A short thread on the recent developments regarding the military-run corporate agricultural farming project: 🧵 Over the past few months, government ministers have repeatedly claimed that the state land being leased to a military-run private company for corporate agricultural farming is barren and will be developed to address Pakistan’s food security challenges.

A recent tussle in Pakpattan between Punjab govt and farmers over state land being handed over for the army’s corporate farming raises a key question:

How much of the 4.8 million acres earmarked for corporate farming by SIFC is actually “barren”?

🧵 Farmers in Pakpattan are challenging the Punjab govt's transfer of state land to an army-led corporate farming initiative, according to Lahore High Court documents.

Petitioners argue that they and their families have been cultivating the land for the state since 1928.

Here are some of the changes proposed in the new draft of the 26th Constitutional Amendment:

🧵 -Article 9A: A new article has been inserted, guaranteeing every person the right to a clean, healthy, sustainable environment.

-JUI-F's proposal to eliminate riba has been adopted, with the addition that it will be eliminated "as far as practicable" by January 1, 2028.

A thread on the 26th Constitutional Amendment Act 2024 and what it proposes.

🧵 In Article 9 which deals with the security of a person, the following has been added.

“Every person shall be entitled to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.”

The Auditor General’s report 2023-24 revealed that the FWO has established a private limited liability company abroad.

“The rendering of services by Army officers in a private company cannot be termed as regular service counting towards promotion / pension,” the report notes. The report also notes that the FWO had set up a new venture without government approval.

"Neither any approval was sought from the government with regard to its establishment nor was any detail of the expenditure incurred or revenue received maintained."

Pattan has examined the publicly available election documents for NA-130 in Lahore, where PML-N's head Nawaz Sharif won on February 8.

Here's a thread on the findings: Pattan identified discrepancies in the election result forms when comparing the voter turnout and polled votes for NA-130 with the three provincial seats within its area.

The Christian community of Jaranwala returns to their neighbourhood to find their homes ransacked and gutted.

“What the mob could not steal they burned to the ground,” said one woman. “It took us 20 years to build this home. In one day they [the mob] sent us back 20 years,” said a man, whose home was burnt, “We can never rebuild our lives again.”

Key takeaways from the Election (Amendment) Bill 2023. Thread: Definition of “assets” tweaked. Now includes property owned by candidates and "spouses and dependent children".

Definition of “technocrat” also tweaked. Now a technocrat must have at least 20 years of experience at international and national level “post qualification”.

In an interview to the Guardian, Imran Khan said military and ISI were above the law.

“They can pick up people, detain people, disappear people. They try and influence judges...”

But whenever Khan is asked how he'd reduce military’s over-sized role in politics, his response: To AJE in April he said:

“You cannot wish away the role of the military in Pakistan because it is entrenched for 70 years. But you need that balance...”

Key highlights from the ECP judgement. Thread: Funds amounting to $2,121,500 were transferred from a Dubai-based company by Arif Naqvi into PTI’s account.

The PTI “knowingly received donations from a company which was being operated by a business tycoon who was involved in criminal fraud,” states the ECP.

PTI did take prohibited funds, states the Election Commission of Pakistan as reported by Geo News. PTI took funds from 34 foreign nationals, states the ECP, as reported by Geo News.

A short thread regarding adding the oath of Khatam-e-Nabuwat in the nikahnama in Punjab.

I wrote about it for BBC Urdu in December. In October, Punjab Assembly passed a resolution, unanimously, to add a Khatam-e-Nabuwwat column in the marriage certificate.

The resolution was moved by lawmakers from PML-Q and the PML-N.

The lawmakers said the speaker Punjab assembly supported the resolution.

Should the Supreme Court have made the recording of the JCP meeting public?

Legal experts weigh in.

geo.tv/latest/430855-… “I think the transcript should not have been released until and unless the consent of all nine participating members was taken. Naturally, the comments that were made about the judges were done under the assumption of secrecy.” - Lawyer Salahuddin Ahmed.

According to the Economic Survey, during FY2022 “the agriculture sector recorded a remarkable growth of 4.40% and surpassed the target of 3.5% and last year’s growth of 3.48 %.” As per the Survey “The literacy rate has gone up in all provinces:

Punjab (66.1 percent to 66.3 percent)

Sindh (61.6 percent to 61.8 percent),

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (52.4 percent to 55.1 percent)

Balochistan (53.9 percent to 54.5 percent).”

In a press conference yesterday, the ex-servicemen said they were ready for “a third war” and announced that one of their enemies is Rana Sanaullah. 🤷‍♀️ The ex-servicemen said they wanted to convey “a loud and clear message to American that if it continues to have anti-Pakistan policies then we have other options.”

Why do they think they can set Pakistan’s foreign policy?

Here are some the major changes made to the NAB Ordinance 1999.

Thread. Once passed by the Senate, and signed into law by the president, the amended bill will apply to all cases, being probed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), since 1999.

PTI approached 'neutrals' for talks with govt: Ahsan Iqbal

I report.
geo.tv/latest/419043-… “They [PTI] sent a message through the ‘third party’ that they wanted to talk to us and negotiate,” Iqbal told Geo.

In a presser, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah says that Punjab is now completely “calm and cool”. Sindh has also rejected this march, while the only activity right now is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says the interior minister.

“There are around 3,000 – 4,000 people with Ali Amin Gandapur. They are using provincial machinery,” he adds.

Till now, 162 PTI workers have been arrested in Lahore alone, official sources tell me. Police fire gas shells at a PTI rally led by Yasmin Rashid at Batti Chowk in Lahore, reports Geo News.

In a press conference Imran Khan says that the current government is just an “undemocratic as the dictators of the country”. "We protested for 124 days, did we ever do anything wrong? Tell me any such incident,” asks Imran Khan

Sindh govt imposes Section 144 for 30 days.

Notification states it has been informed that “some political and other disgruntled elements are planning to trigger acts of unlawful assembly with an intent to block roads, highways and organize a sit-in." Punjab government has also imposed Section 144, says PML-N's Attaullah Tarar in a press conference.

"We have intelligence reports that they [PTI] have started gathering weapons and want that when a crowd gathers they will start firing to disturb peace."