Pakistani court disqualifies Foreign Minister
Islamabad, April 26: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday disqualified Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif from Parliament for holding a work permit of the United Arab Emirates.
The court announced its verdict on a petition stating that Asif did not mention his foreign employment in his nomination papers, the Pakistani media reported.
A three-member special bench ruled that Asif was not "honest" and "truthful" as per the Constitution. It also stated that he was not even qualified to contest the 2013 general elections.
The disqualification petition was filed by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Usman Dar, who contested from the NA-110 constituency against Asif, Geo News reported.
As per the petitioner, Asif was not entitled to be a Member of the National Assembly nor a federal minister under the unlimited term employment Contract between him and International Mechanical and Electrical Co (IMECO), a company in Abu Dhabi.
Asif was hired as a full-time employee of IMECO on July 2, 2011 and held various positions, including those of the legal adviser and special adviser, the petition stated.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
