Supporters of former Pakistan prime minister Imran Khan staged rallies across the country after his party was sidelined in a vote in the local assembly in Punjab province on Friday, despite an emphatic win in by-elections there earlier in the week.
The vote was held to determine whether the province’s sitting chief minister — Hamza Sharif, the son of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — still enjoyed majority support in the provincial legislature.
Mr Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party had hoped to form the new provincial government in Punjab, Pakistan’s most populous province, after the party won 15 out of 20 seats that were available in by-elections on July 17.
The result took the PTI’s strength in the 371-seat assembly to 178 which, together with 10 seats from its ally, the Pakistan Muslim League, would give it a majority.
In Friday’s vote, the PTI candidate for chief minister, Pervez Elahi, initially won 186 votes but the provincial assembly’s deputy speaker, Dost Mohammad Mazari, invalidated 10 of those votes over alleged violations of voting regulations.
In a statement broadcast on national television, Mr Mazari said that 10 politicians from the Pakistan Muslim League, led by Shujaat Hussain, a Khan ally, had broken the rules by ignoring instructions from their party leader to abstain.
Under Pakistani law, votes are disqualified if lawmakers vote contrary to their party’s instructions. Mr Hussain could not be reached for comment.
In the end, Hamza Sharif won 179 votes, retaining the post.
Mr Khan claimed his opponents had resorted to political machinations in Punjab and called on his countrymen to rally against Mr Mazari’s ruling.
Protesters began taking to the streets in major cities across Pakistan on Friday night and the rallies were peaceful.
The PTI posted video and photos showing large protests in Karachi, Lahore, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on its official Twitter account.
Mr Khan was removed from office in a no-confidence vote in Parliament in April, a move he claimed was a US conspiracy, a charge that both his successor and Washington deny.
He wants the government to call early parliamentary elections to determine whether he or Shehbaz Sharif has more popular support.
Mr Sharif has refused to accept the challenge, saying the next elections will be held in 2023 as scheduled.
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Indoor Cricket World Cup
Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
Indika
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2011%20Bit%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Odd%20Meter%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2017 Maserati Quattroporte
Price, base / as tested Dh389,000 / Dh559,000
Engine 3.0L twin-turbo V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 530hp @ 6,800rpm
Torque 650Nm @ 2,000 rpm
Fuel economy, combined 10.7L / 100km
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Where to apply
Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
Please send applications to nmarch@thenational.ae and please mark the subject line as “Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism (UAE programme application)”.
The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
