Afghan officials in Pak to give proof of ISI link

Afghanistan’s intelligence chief and foreign minister made a surprise visit to Islamabad following a recent spate of deadly attacks in Kabul. Afghanistan has said that some of the attacks were carried out by perpetrators linked to Pakistan’s powerful spy agency, the ISI. Media from Pakistan has reported that Masoom Stanekzai and Wais Ahmad Barmak were in Islamabad with a message from President Ashraf Ghani and would be hold discussions about cooperation. Also there are reports that the delegation will hand over evidence that shows that recent attacks by the Taliban were planned in Pakistan. The report said that if Pakistan does not cooperate, Afghanistan will lodge a complaint with the UN Security Council. Stanikzai and Barmak’s visit comes after Faisal said Pakistan handed over 27 insurgents to Afghan authorities last year, including members of the Haqqani network. Afghanistan’s envoy to Islamabad, Omar Zakhilwal, said he had no information on such an exchange. “This certainly is news to me! It would be a huge step forward in our important bilateral relations if this indeed happens,” he tweeted.

Nawaz Sharif aide removed from key post by Pak court

Pakistan’s Supreme Court removed Siddiqul Farooq, a close aide of Nawaz Sharif, from the top post of a minority body while hearing a case regarding the maintenance of Katas Raj temple. Sharif appointed Farooq as chairman of the Evacuee Trust Property Board, the government entity charged with the upkeep of shrines of religious minorities.
The court observed that Farooq was not eligible to hold the post. Nisar made the announcement while hearing the suo moto case over Katas Raj and the drying up of its sacred pond.

CJI recommends impeachment of Allahabad High Court judge

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra has recommended the impeachment of Justice Shri Narayan Shukla, the eighth senior-most judge of the Allahabad High Court, following an adverse report about him by an in-house panel set up by the CJI. The CJI has set the process in motion with a letter to the Prime Minister for the impeachment of the judge. When the impeachment motion is moved in Parliament, an investigation is conducted. If the findings of guilt are confirmed, the impeachment motion will be put to vote for the removal of the judge by a majority.

The move for a possible impeachment of Justice Shukla began with Allahabad High Chief Justice D.B. Bhosale withdrawing judicial duties from him from January 23, 2018. The trigger was a scathing report by the committee led by Madras High Court Chief Justice Indira Banerjee. Justice Shukla joined the Allahabad High Court in 2005 and was set to retire on July 17, 2020. His orders in the cases of blacklisted private medical colleges in Lucknow had come under the scanner of the CJI Bench last year.

Punjab Police nabs gangster Gounder’s social media handlers

 The Jagraon police have arrested three alleged social media handlers of slain gangster Vicky Gounder’s gang. The trio had allegedly posted a threat to avenge Gounder’s killing on Facebook.

They had threatened that they would kill two policemen each to avenge one killing.Those arrested have been identified as Karajpal Singh of Basti Punjab Singhwala, Zira, Gurpreet Singh, alias Gopi, of Dham Talwandi Khurd village, near Jagraon and Gurjit Singh of Badala village. The police have also seized 500 gram of heroin, six pistols and the mobile phone from which the accused allegedly posted the threat on Facebook.