Nawaz Sharif, daughter given parole; Kulsoom's burial on Friday
Islamabad, Sep 12 : Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Mohammad Safdar have been released from prison on a three-day parole to attend the funeral of Kulsoom Nawaz, who passed away in London after months of battle with cancer.
The three, now serving prison sentences in Rawalpindi on corruption charges, were released hours after Sharif's wife died in a London hospital on Tuesday.
The funeral prayers of the former Premier's wife will held at London's Regent Park mosque on Thursday and her body will then be flown to Lahore, Geo News reported.
The Sharif family said that Kulsoom Nawaz will be laid to rest on Friday at their residence in Lahore.
Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and her husband were escorted by the police from the jail to the Nur Khan Airbase from where they flew to Lahore on Wednesday.
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif accompanied the three on the flight. Later, he departed for London to bring Kulsoom Nawaz's body home.
According to the Punjab Home Department spokesperson, it was decided that Sharif, Maryam Nawaz and Safdar's parole be extended by three days. "In case of a delay in Begum Kulsoom's funeral, the parole will be further extended," the spokesperson said.
According to Dawn daily, Kulsoom Nawaz's sons in London would not accompany her body to Lahore though her daughter Asma and grandson Zikriya Sharif would go with the casket to Pakistan.
A large number of relatives, party leaders, workers, politicians and well-wishers visited the Sharif residence to condole the death.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
