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July 29, 2022: National / International Current Affairs
1. NA speaker approves resignations of 11 PTI MNAs
• Amid growing acrimony between the PTI and the PML-N, National Assembly Speaker Raja Pervaiz Ashraf on July 28, 2022 accepted the resignations of 11 PTI lawmakers who had resigned after the vote of no confidence against former PM Imran Khan.
• According to the NA Se cretariat, the resignations of Dr Shireen Mazari, Farrukh Habib, Ali Muhammad Khan, Fazal Muhammad Khan, Shaukat Ali, Fakhar Zaman Khan, Ijaz Ahmed Shah, Jamil Ahmed Khan, Muhammad Akram Cheema, Abdul Shakoor Shad and Shandana Gulzar Khan have been accepted.
• Out of these members, Ms Gulzar and Ms Mazari were elected on the reserved seats.
• After the ouster of former prime minister Imran Khan through a successful no-confidence motion in the NA on April 10, 131 PTI members and Awami Muslim League`s (AML) Sheikh Rashid had submitted their resignations
2. Pakistan, China call for stability in Afghanistan
• Pakistan and China on July 28, 2022 emphasised the need for stability in Afghanistan as Foreign Minister Bilawal BhuttoZardari met his counterpart in the Taliban administration, Amir Khan Muttagi, for the first time.
• `The two sides agreed that peace and stability in Afghanistan was vital for regional development and prosperity,` Foreign Office said in a statement on the meeting between FM Bhutto-Zardari and Chinese top diplomat Wang Yi on the sidelines of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tashkent.
• The two foreign ministers, while emphasising the importance of `peaceful, stable and connected Afghanistan`, noted that it could become the `fulcrum for enhanced regional trade and connectivity`
3. JCP holds back assent for CJP`s nominees to top court
• The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP) on July 28, 2022 opposed by a majority of five to four a set of four names proposed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial for elevation to the Supreme Court, but decided to consider the case of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) chief justice later.
• Presided over by CJP Bandial, the meeting was called to consider for elevation to the Supreme Court the names of Chief Justice Qaiser Rasheed Khan of the PHC, Justice Shahid Waheed of the Lahore High Court (LHC) and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui and Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto of the Sindh High Court (SHC).
• According to a press note issued by the Supreme Court, the meeting was attended by seven members of JCP in-person while senior puisne judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa and Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Ashtar Ausaf attended via Zoom from Spain and USA, respectively
4. Import ban on luxury items lifted
• The government has increased dealers` commission on the sale of petroleum products by up to an unprecedented 70 per cent and lifted a ban imposed in May on the import of `non-essential and luxury items`, excluding automobiles, cell phones and electronics.
• The decisions were taken on July 28, 2022 at a meeting of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet presided over by Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.
• The committee also approved tenders for 200,000 tonnes of wheat at about $408 a tonne and allowed $11.6 million goodwill compensation for the Chinese causalities at the Dasu hydropower project in July last year
5. Punjab PA speaker election today
• The Punjab Assembly is set to elect its new speaker on July 29, 2022 (today) as both the ruling coalition and the opposition alliance have pitched their candidates for the coveted post.
• The House in its proceedings on Thursday adopted a resolution seeking suspension of the assembly rules that authorise the governor to summon a session for the contest and also holding a vote of no-confidence against Deputy Speaker Sardar Dost Muhammad Mazari at 4pm on Friday.
• Sibtain Khan, the PTI lawmaker from Mianwali, has been nominated by the ruling coalition comprising PTI and PML-Q for the office of the speaker, which fell vacant due to the election of Parvez Elahi, the previous holder of the post, as chief minister. Opposition parties PML-N and PPP have fielded Saiful Malook Khokhar as their joint candidate