PESHAWAR: Maulana Fazlur Rehman has been unanimously elected as the chief (Ameer) of Jamiat Ulama-e-Islam (F) during the party’s central assembly and general council meeting held on Sunday.
The meeting, which took place at the Mufti Mahmood Markaz in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, also saw the election of Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Hydari as the general secretary for the next five years.
JUI-F spokesperson Muhammad Aslam Ghori stated that details of the decisions made during the meeting will be released at a later time. Reports from the chiefs and administrators of the four provinces, as well as Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir, were presented during the meeting. The leadership of JUI-F expressed satisfaction with the reports and urged expedited preparations for upcoming elections.
The meeting’s agenda also included discussions on the current political situation in the country, and the party’s campaign in support of the Palestinians was reviewed by the participants.
Rawalpindi Judge Relieved of Post After Rebuking Defense Secretary
Meanwhile, on Saturday, an Additional District & Sessions Judge (ADSJ) in Rawalpindi was relieved of his post, a day after he rebuked the Defense Secretary for non-compliance with a court order.
According to a notification from the Lahore High Court registrar, ADSJ Waris Ali has been designated as an officer on special duty (OSD) and transferred to Lahore, signifying his removal from the case.
The notification stated, “The honorable chief justice and judges are pleased to post Mr. Waris Ali, Additional District & Sessions Judge, Rawalpindi, as OSD at Sessions Court, Lahore in the public interest, with immediate effect.” An OSD is a government employee without specific responsibilities who continues to receive salaries and other benefits.
ADSJ Ali had apparently drawn criticism from higher authorities after he directed the federal government to remove Defense Secretary Retired Lt Gen Hamooduz Zaman. The judge ordered the defense secretary to submit a report on the military’s business activities and their beneficiaries.
However, the defense secretary neither complied with the order nor appeared in court. The judge, dissatisfied with the absence of the lead counsel and the submission of a memo of appearance by the clerk, refused to accept it.
In his written verdict, ADSJ Ali ordered the removal of the defense secretary, citing the conduct as a denial of the judiciary’s existence, a pillar of the state. He sought the attorney general’s assistance, noting that the case required interpretation of the Constitution regarding the regulation of the armed forces’ functions under Article 245.
The next hearing was scheduled for November 24, but with ADSJ Ali directed to take charge as OSD before November 20, a new judge will take over the case.
