Tag: Laws

ISLAMABAD - The business entities in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi will take active steps for enforcement of legislation to protect women against harassment at workplace.
This was assured by senior representatives of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Islamabad and Rawalpindi at the launching of a report titled "Leaders of change: drawing lessons from case studies of organizations with anti-sexual harassment policies" arranged by 'Alliance Against Sexual

ISLAMABAD - Alliance Against Sexual Harassment (AASHA) - a coalition of dozen civil society organisations working to eliminate sexual harassment and promoting women's rights - urged the provincial governments to swiftly legislate to protect women against sexual harassment on Saturday.
AASHA organised a seminar to advocate the need of implementation of the law against women's sexual harassment, in Islamabad. Speakers at the seminar called upon the provincial chief ministers to

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan Muslim League-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain on Wednesday demanded the government introduce new legislation to stop the abuse of blasphemy laws. Condemning the assassination of Salmaan Taseer, Shujaat said the government should draft new laws by taking all political and religious parties on board to stop the abuse of the existing blasphemy law.
Addressing the PML-Q Central Working Committee meeting, Shujaat said, "The government should not touch or

ISLAMABAD - Gross violation of recruitment procedures took place in Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) where nurses from Punjab province were hired recently on posts allocated for Sindh and Balochistan as very few applicants from those provinces had applied on their quota leaving many posts vacant.
"Violation of recruitment procedures was witnessed in PIMS as for 90 posts of nursing staff, almost all of applicants hired are from Punjab province with many of them on

KARACHI - Clerics on Saturday declared that they did not trust statements by the government's ministers, demanding that the government take concrete steps to assure the people that it did not intend to amend blasphemy laws.
In a joint statement issued by Binoria University International after a meeting of religious scholars and teachers presided by Mufti Naeem, they said the countrywide strike on Friday had proven that the people stood united to protect sanctity of Prophet

KARACHI - The State Bank of Pakistan has amended the Prudential Regulation Number 17 for microfinance banks (MFB) with immediate effect to introduce minimum requirements to maintain records of transactions and identification data in a systematic manner.
An SBP Circular, MFD Circular Number 1 issued on Saturday, said microfinance banks shall keep records on identification data obtained through the customer due diligence (CDD) process, account files and business correspondence for

ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday defended the personnel of the army and other law-enforcement agencies, saying they were not involved in extra-judicial killings and the foreign media was trying to malign the image of Pakistani institutions through its malicious campaign.
Speaking in the National Assembly, the prime minister rejected foreign media reports that claimed that the Pakistani security agencies had violated human rights. "In the meetings of the

LAHORE - A shutter-down strike was observed on Friday at major business centres of Lahore on the call given by religious parties against proposed amendments in the blasphemy laws.
The traders' community also joined the religious parties and kept their shops closed throughout the day. The strike was observed on the Tehreek Tahafaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat (TNR) call. The city's business and trade centres including the Shah Alam Market, Urdu Bazaar, Anarkali, Neela Gumbad, Mall Road,

LAHORE - Traders across the country have joined the movement for the protection of the blasphemy laws and announced a countrywide strike for today (Friday).
The All Pakistan Anjuman-e-Tajiran (APAT), Qaumi Tajir Ittehad (QTI), Gulberg Traders Board Association (GTBA), Mall Road Traders Association (MRTA), Lahore Sugar Dealers Association and Lahore Karyana Merchants Association has confirmed their participation in the strike.
Earlier, the APAT gave a strike call against the

KARACHI - The government has not decided to amend the blasphemy law; some parties are politicising the issue for their vested interests, Federal Religious Affairs Minister Khursheed Ahmed Shah said on Thursday.
Speaking at a press conference at the Pakistan People's Party Media Cell, Shah said he was a responsible representative of the government and had already clarified the government's position on the floor of the National Assembly that the government does not intend to bring

ISLAMABAD - Highlighting the government's policy statement on blasphemy law, Minister for Religious Affairs Khursheed Shah on Wednesday told the National Assembly that the government had no intention to amend or repeal blasphemy law.
The minister also made it clear that the bill by Sherry Rehman seeking amendment in the blasphemy law was her private member bill and the government would not support any such amendment. "It is the government's prime duty to ensure

KARACHI - Provincial conservator Hussain Bux Bhaagat was transferred from Karachi to Sukkur and the law that asks for a fee of Rs 5000 for possessing a falcon was amended when President Asif Zardari's Arab friend, carrying two falcons, was stopped at the Karachi airport and asked for documents and fee slips, sources told Pakistan Today.
Arif al Zarooni, emissary of Lieutenant General Sheikh Ahmed and the brother of Dubai's ruler Sheikh Rashid al Maktoum was stopped at the Jinnah

Lahore - Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP) President Dr Sahibzada Abul Khair Mohammad Zubair has said that Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani has nothing to do with the proposed changes in blasphemy law.
"It is President Zardari who is more interested in the changes, as if trying to fulfill his commitments, which he made with Pope Benedict in Vatican, last September," he said in an exclusive interview with Pakistan Today.
Dr Zubair talked about different issues including the

LAHORE - The hard-line Sunni Ittehad Council leadership on Monday warned the federal government of civil disobedience if it opts for amendments in the blasphemy laws.
They issued this warning while addressing the Tahafaz-e-Namoos-e-Risalat Ulema-o-Mashaikh Convention at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal. The audience endorsed the decision of their leaders by chanting slogans and raising their hands in support.
Speakers said that they were ready to sacrifice hundreds of thousands

ISLAMABAD: The need for effective legislation against money laundering to monitor foreign funding to terrorist organization was stressed by Federal Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Senator Babar Awan in a seminar titled 'Money laundering and Implication for Counter-terrorism Efforts' organized by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development And Transparency (PILDAT)on Tuesday.
"There is neither a record nor a tax on the laundered amount," he said, adding that

LAHORE: The Pasban-e-Khatam-e-Nabuwat organised a protest against proposed amendments in blasphemous laws and publication of blasphemous caricatures in western newspapers in front of the Lahore Press Club on Sunday. The protesters chanted slogans against the government for remaining silent over such a vital issue.
They said that it was a joint venture of the Jews and Qadyanis to make the constitution ineffective on blasphemous issues. The protesters warned that they would not

ISLAMABAD: Blasphemy laws have been misused, especially against the minorities, Federal Minister Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti said while talking to reporters after a consultation meeting with representatives of religious minorities on Saturday.
The laws should be repealed after discussions among the Ulema from all school of thoughts, representatives of civil societies and scholars, he said.
Earlier, the meeting arranged by All Pakistan Minorities Alliance (APMA),