Gujarat assembly admits no-confidence motion against Speaker
Gandhinagar: The Gujarat Assembly on Thursday admitted a no confidence motion, brought by the opposition Congress, against Speaker Rajendra Trivedi for suspending its two legislators for three years and another for a year.
The proposal, which was moved by Deputy Leader of Opposition Shailesh Parmar and supported by the entire Opposition, including Independent Jignesh Mevani, would come up for discussion and vote in the next seven working days.
The no-trust motion was moved on February 28, less than 10 days of Trivedi taking over as Speaker of the 14th Legislative Assembly.
The first session, also the budget session of the new government, chaired by Trivedi, had seen several disruptions and protests by the Opposition on more than one issue. It even saw a physical assault by a Congress legislator Pratap Dudhat on a BJP lawmaker on March 14. Besides Dudhat, Amrish Der was suspended for three years, while the party's Baldev Thakore was suspended for a year.
This provoked the Opposition to move the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. Trivedi even ruled against the entry of these three legislators in the premises of Assembly. On an earlier occasion, the Speaker even ordered the assembly staff to switch off Mevani's microphone.
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Pakistan Stock Exchange plunges by over 6 pc over rumours of Indian strike near Karachi
Karachi, May 8 (PTI): The Pakistan Stock Exchange plunged by over 6 per cent on Thursday with trading halted for an hour after rumours of escalation in military action by India near Karachi.
Although the rumours were unfounded, the benchmark KSE100 index tumbled 6,948.73 points, or 6.32 per cent, to 1,03,060.30, before the trading was halted.
Trading resumed with Fatima Bucha of AKD Securities confirming the situation on the floor had calmed down a bit.
“But the situation could get worse as investors are panicking due to the geopolitical situation,” she said. “No one is sure what is going to happen and how and if Pakistan will respond to India's aggression.”
The downward trajectory of the index was largely driven by negative contributions from key stocks such as cement, energy, bank, and technology, which collectively dragged the index down.
Meanwhile the government has taken measures to keep its foreign exchange reserves stabilised.
It has imposed a 60-day ban on importing and exporting precious metals, jewellery, and gemstones from Thursday.
The temporary ban was imposed by a Commerce Ministry Order suspending SRO760 of 2013, which governs the trade of precious metals.
The restriction is linked to the recent impasse with India as a potential strategy to limit the flow of metals.
The State Bank of Pakistan has also informally advised all currency dealers in both inter-bank and open markets to closely monitor dollar outflows, as the escalating conflict could rapidly increase demand for the greenback.
Zaffar Paracha, general secretary of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan said if the currency market faced any shortage it could be managed but if there was a prolonged conflict it could damage both countries.
“For now we have not seen any panic buying of dollars, nor had demand escalated,” Paracha said.
According to a currency dealer, over 90 per cent of remittances to Pakistan come through Indian exchange companies, particularly from the West Asia — a channel that may face disruptions if the conflict between the two countries prolongs. “…In the case of a full-fledged war, these companies could be used by India as a tool to pressure Pakistan.”
Currency dealers, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Indian exchange companies are the main handlers of remittances to Pakistan.
