File photo
The president of Pakistan on Thursday has dismissed a senior judge, who had accused country's powerful spy agency of manipulating the judicial proceedings, of the Islamabad High Court, officials said.
According to a notification issued by the Justice Ministry, President Arif Alvi has removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui from the Islamabad High Court after recommendation by the Supreme Judicial Council.
"The president of Pakistan has been pleased to remove Mr Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge, Islamabad High Court, Islamabad from his office with immediate effect on recommendation of the Supreme Judicial Counci," read an official notification.
Earlier on Thursday, the Supreme Judicial Council, the body that holds inquiries into allegations of incapacity or misconduct against Supreme or High Court judges, has recommended the president to remove Justice Siddiqui over on his controversial speech on July 21.
A Pakistani court on Thursday ordered confiscation of the properties owned by the son-in-law of the jailed opposition leader Shehbaz Sharif for skipping an ongoing investigation in connection with bribe charges against him, court record said.An accountability court in northeastern Lahore city announced the order on the request of the National Accountability Bureau, a state-run anti-corruption agency, which accuses, Ali Imran, Sharif’s son-in-law, of receiving Rs 130 million ($1 million) as bribe in exchange for grating a water contract to a local company.The NAB claimed that the accused, who had reportedly fled to London, was not joining the investigation despite repeated summoning.His father-in-law, and a three-time chief minister of the country’s most populous Punjab province is the prime accused in the said case apart from a string of other corruption cases.Turkish, Pakistani air forces hold joint exerciseThe NAB has also summoned Salman Shehbaz, Sharif’s son, over making assets beyond his known sources of income.Sharif was taken into custody by the NAB authorities in Lahore in connection with a housing scam last week -- a move the opposition parties dubbed as “political victimization.”The opposition leader is accused of granting illegal contracts to his favorites for the construction of low-cost houses for the poor and middle-class in Punjab -- the country’s political power base.His elder brother and three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has already been disqualified for life, and given a 10-year jail term in a corruption case. However, Islamabad's High Court suspended the jail term, and granted bail to the former three-time premier last month.Pakistan army appoints new chief of intelligence agencyPakistan stresses efforts for sustainable development
Shehbaz Sharif’s son-in-law’s properties confiscated
On July 21, Justice Shaukat Siddiqui, accused Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) of being involved in “manipulating the judicial proceedings” in the country.
“ISI officials approached my chief justice and told him ‘We will not let Nawaz Sharif and his daughter get out of jail prior to the general elections’,” Siddiqui had claimed in his speech before the Rawalpindi Bar Association.
Siddiqui claimed officials of the spy agency asked the chief justice of Islamabad High Court to not include him on the bench hearing Sharif’s appeal.
On July 22, Pakistan’s army called on the Supreme Court to initiate an inquiry into allegations leveled by a senior judge against the country’s top spy agency.
Pakistan has requested financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund to address its economic challenges, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Thursday.Lagarde said in a statement that the request came during her meeting with Pakistani Finance Minister Asad Umar, and central bank governor Tarik Bajwa on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali."An IMF team will visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to initiate discussions for a possible IMF-supported economic program," Lagarde said. "We look forward to our continuing partnership." 
IMF to launch financial assistance talks with Pakistan: Lagarde
“In order to safeguard the sanctity and credibility of the state institutions, the honorable Supreme Court of Pakistan has been requested to initiate the appropriate process of ascertain the veracity of the allegations and take actions accordingly,” said Maj. Gen. Asif Ghafoor, Pakistan military’s spokesman, in a his statement on July 22.
On July 6, a Pakistani court had handed a 10-year jail term to three-time Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and imposed an 8-million-pound ($10.58 million) fine in a graft case linked to the illegal purchase of four luxury apartments in London in 1993.
His daughter Maryam Nawaz and her husband Safdar were sentenced to seven years and one year in jail, respectively.
Authorities arrested Sharif and his daughter at Lahore Airport after his return from London. However, later on Sept. 19, the Islamabad High Court suspended the accountability court verdict and ordered the release of Sharif, his daughter and his son-in-law.
The air forces of Turkey and Pakistan held a joint exercise at an undisclosed operation base in Pakistan, an official statement said on Wednesday.Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) Air Chief Marshal Mujahid Anwar Khan also took part in the ongoing exercise at the base, the statement by the PAF said.Khan flew an exercise training mission in a fighter aircraft, it said.Interacting with the combat crew of both the air forces, he congratulated the participants for the smooth, professional and successful conduct of the exercise.Turkish troops support education in KosovoHe further said that both countries' air forces have a long history of enviable cordial relations. The ongoing exercise, he noted, would certainly help both the air forces to learn from each other’s experiences.The ongoing exercise is part of strong bilateral ties that Ankara and Islamabad have developed in recent years, especially in defense and security fields.Pakistan is set to receive 30 T129 Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopters (ATAK) from Turkey under a deal finalized in July this year.The Turkish-made helicopters -- a new generation, tandem, two-seat, twin-engine -- specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance will be delivered gradually in five years.Ankara is, meanwhile, buying MFI-17 Super Mushshak trainer aircraft from Pakistan besides upgrading three Pakistani submarines and jointly building a fleet tanker, according to the local media.In July this year, Ankara won a multibillion-dollar tender to supply four corvettes to the Pakistani Navy -- a deal dubbed as the highest export for Turkey’s defense industry in the history by the then Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli.In May 2017, Turkish and Pakistani defense companies had struck a deal for construction of four Turkish Ada class MILGEM (National Ship) corvettes.According to the agreement, two ships will be built in Istanbul, while two others in Karachi.The first pair of the corvettes will join the inventory of the Pakistan Naval Forces in 2023, while the remaining two will be handed over in 2024.Turkey had also gifted 34 T-37 trainer aircraft and spares to Pakistan in 2015.
Turkish, Pakistani air forces hold joint exercise