ISLAMABAD: PTI has decided to contest the upcoming local government elections in the capital, with the party’s regional leadership directing district and town organisations to file nomination papers in every ward across all union councils between November 2 and 6, it emerged on Wednesday.

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has scheduled the polls for December 20.

On Wednesday, PTI’s Islamabad wing President Amir Mughal, speaking to Dawn, said, “We have decided to contest elections on all 125 seats of union councils”.

Mughal said that PTI visited areas across the city to get input from the people, claiming that “over 95 per cent of people suggested contesting the elections.”

“They were of the view that the government can not do more than what it is already doing with the party. So we will contest without going into what kind of election symbols are allotted to our candidates,” he said.

Replying to a question, Mughal said the commission had already postponed the election four times and feared further postponement again due to PTI’s popularity.

Meanwhile, in a press release issued on Wednesday, the party said Mughal, Shoaib Shaheen and Malik Aamir had held more than 25 meetings across the three electoral constituencies over the past three days.

It said that the decision to participate in the elections was taken after a series of online consultations with around 400 office-bearers representing the regional and district organisations, eight town organisations, all 125 union councils, and various party wings and committees, including the labour wing, Insaf Students Federation, youth, traders and women’s wings, the advisory council, working committee and core committee.

According to the statement, 95pc of the office-bearers consulted supported contesting the elections.

The party said it would field candidates committed to public service and loyal to the political ideology of PTI founder Imran Khan. It said preference would be given to dedicated, principled and determined workers who had remained at the forefront of the party’s political struggle.

Noting previous delays, the party vowed to press for the elections to be held as per schedule.

Criticising the existing local government law, PTI said the government intended to hold elections under a flawed system that left elected representatives without meaningful powers, even over basic municipal services such as street cleaning, while concentrating authority in the bureaucracy.

The statement also opposed the reported move to replace the direct election of chairmen and vice chairmen with an indirect electoral process through councillors. PTI described the proposed arrangement as a potential means of pre-poll rigging, alleging that councillors could be intimidated or pressured into changing their votes.

The party also questioned the proposed announcement of election results four days after polling, claiming that the delay could facilitate manipulation.

Claiming that Islamabad had traditionally been a PTI stronghold, the party expressed confidence it would secure a sweeping victory in the local government elections, similar to the result it claimed to have achieved in the 2024 General Elections.

The term of the local government in the capital expired in February 2021, and the ECP was supposed to conduct elections within 120 days.

However, over the years, the federal government and the ECP spent their time carrying out delimitation and announcing election schedules, only to postpone the polls later.

In the schedule announced last week, October 30 was set for the issuance of a public notice inviting nomination papers. After the completion of various stages of the electoral process, polling will be held on Dec 20.

The ECP has reserved four days, from Dec 21 to 24, for the consolidation of results.

ISLAMABAD: A majority of PTI lawmakers on Tuesday opposed further efforts to negotiate with the powers that be, arguing that the latter had already secured what they wanted, and that pursuing further talks would “only show weakness”.

Several members also expressed dissatisfaction with the party leadership’s handling of the prevailing challenges, questioning its decisions and overreliance on then-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief minister Sohail Afridi.

Heated arguments were witnessed during a joint parliamentary party meeting that lasted over seven hours, with some questioning why the top leadership had handed so much authority to Mr Afridi, who, they said, held no position within the party hierarchy.

On the other hand, around 15 lawmakers favoured supporting the proposed 28th Amend­ment, arguing that it could help normalise relations with the establishment and pave the way for the release of Imran Khan.

The meeting, held at Parl­i­ament House to discuss the prevailing political situation and the party’s future strategy, was chaired by PTI Chairman Barrister Gohar Ali Khan. Former National Assembly speaker Asad Qaiser, Senator Ali Zafar and Chief Whip Malik Amir Dogar were in attendance.

An insider, requesting anonymity, said that most participants, including Mr Qaiser, had rejected further efforts to negotiate.

Some criticised Barrister Gohar and Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, questioning why the party leadership appeared to be functioning under Mr Afridi. They alleged that the top leadership had left everything to the KP chief minister, who had become non-functional after the imposition of governor’s rule in KP, because of its interest in transfers, postings and financial matters in the province.

Public support

The insider said members believed that although morale had declined following the PTI government’s removal in KP, the party had not lost public support.

Another participant said Mr Qaiser presented a pre-written declaration containing points that had not been discussed at the meeting, annoying several members. At this, Faisal Amin Gandapur reacted by asking, “Is this a joke?” and walked out following an exchange with Barrister Gohar.

Mobeen Arif Jutt questioned why the party was not speaking up for leaders who were in jail or in hiding, saying he felt embarrassed when speaking to them. He also criticised opposition leader Mahmood Khan Achakzai, alleging that Mr Achakzai had contacted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz after his son was arrested near Kharian and stayed in Lahore until his son was released.

Azam Swati urged Barrister Gohar and his colleagues to step down, while MNA Shah Ahad also criticised the leadership. Peshawar MNA Sher Ali said party leaders were receiving calls asking them to surrender to the police or face police raids on their homes.

Consultations go on

After the meeting, party whip Amir Dogar said several prevailing issues had been discussed, but decisions would be taken after consultation with leaders of the opposition in both houses. This was the first session and another meeting would follow, he said.

Senator Ali Zafar said the meeting had discussed possible future decisions and that committees, to be headed by the opposition leaders, would be formed.

Media reports suggested that some lawmakers, including Ali Muhammad Khan, walked out of the meeting before it concluded.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court’s (SC) Justice Ayesha Malik on Tuesday challenged victim-blaming assumptions that suggested that women ‘invite’ rape and called for such attitudes to be re-examined.

The judge was addressing participants at the launch of a bench book on the adjudication of rape cases for judges of gender-based violence (GBV) courts in Islamabad. The event was held in collaboration between the Ministry of Human Rights (MoHR), the Legal Aid Society (LAS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

Delivering the keynote address at the event, Justice Malik expressed concern that sexual violence had become so routine that it no longer provoked sufficient outrage.

She challenged assumptions that blamed female victims of sexual violence by suggesting that they ‘invite’ rape, calling for a fundamental re-examination of attitudes towards women that allowed such assumptions to persist.

The bench book provides a practical reference to support fair trials and judicial decisions grounded in law and evidence, according to a statement by the MoHR. It was launched alongside a national study on low conviction rates in GBV cases.

The two publications address connected challenges across the criminal justice process, the statement said.

Director general of the MoHR’s Child Protection Institute, Rabeea Hadi, presented the study on low conviction rates, prepared by the ministry alongside the Senate’s Functional Committee on Human Rights. The study examined “where cases falter, from the first report through investigation, medico-legal examination, prosecution and trial”.

Meanwhile, LAS Director of Gender, Inclusion and Development, Advocate Maliha Zia, presented the structure of the bench book and its intended use during court proceedings.

The bench book brings together applicable law and judicial guidance in 10 chapters following the sequence of a trial, and supports judges in assessing evidence that is placed before them, according to the rights ministry.

The chairperson of the Special Committee on the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial) Act 2021, Senator Ayesha Raza Farooq, addressed the practical application of the act.

“The bench book takes what Parliament enacted, together with what the superior courts have held, and places it within reach of the judge who has to apply it,” she said.

LAS Chief Executive Officer Barrister Haya Emaan Zahid illustrated the survivor’s journey by highlighting the pressures survivors face and the need to assess delayed reporting, gaps in medical evidence and family power dynamics in their proper context.

UNFPA Pakistan’s Representative Dr Luay Shabaneh linked fair adjudication to Pakistan’s international human rights commitments, noting: “A judgment that is correctly reasoned protects everybody in and outside the courtroom.”

The British High Commission’s Senior Governance Adviser Mary Kate Thomson highlighted that public trust was shaped by how everyday cases were handled, and influenced whether survivors came forward.

Opening the event, Abdul Khalique Shaikh, secretary of the Ministry of Human Rights, affirmed the ministry’s custodianship of both documents.

“The honest position is that the word on paper and the practice on the ground have not yet converged,” he said, calling for attention to be drawn to how legal protections were delivered in practice.

The event brought together the judiciary, prosecutors, parliamentarians, senior government officials, legal practitioners and development partners, “with a shared focus on translating legal protections into consistent practice throughout the justice process”, the ministry’s statement said.

A total of 3,172 GBV cases were reported across Pakistan during the first half of 2026, including 18 cases involving transgender persons, according to Sahil’s Six Months Cruel Numbers Report (January-June 2026).

The report, available with Dawn, documented 644 murders, 514 cases of torture, 462 abductions, 363 suicides, 280 rapes, 175 injuries, 132 honour killings, and 21 other crimes, including harassment, gang rape and pornography.

ISLAMABAD: The government on Monday warned that drug prices must not be increased without valid justification and ordered a review of the existing pricing formula to ensure medicines are priced fairly without creating unnecessary hurdles for patients, importers or the pharmaceutical industry.

Economic Affairs Minister Ahad Cheema, who chaired a meeting of the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap), directed officials to expedite the processing of pending drug-pricing cases after being briefed that their case-by-case evaluation was almost complete.

The minister appreciated the progress and acknowledged the efforts of Climate Change Minister Dr Musadik Malik and Drap officials in completing the evaluation.

Health Secretary Momin Agha, Drap Chief Executive Officer Dr Obaidullah Malik and other senior officials also attended the meeting.

The meeting was also informed that sufficient quantities of the trivalent influenza vaccine recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) were available in the market.

Drap had withdrawn the hardship case relating to the vaccine as its prices were controlled in the international market.

Officials told the meeting that Drap was reviewing the existing drug-pricing formula and examining provisions that could hinder the determination of fair and accurate prices.

Cheema suggested that Drap consider subscribing to specialised international databases on drug prices to strengthen independent assessment and provide more reliable benchmarks for pricing decisions.

“Public facilitation should remain the government’s top priority,” he emphasised, adding that any increase in medicine prices without valid justification was unacceptable.

The minister said price comparisons with other countries could provide useful benchmarks, but stressed the need for independent checks and balances in the pricing process.

Cheema ordered that the pricing mechanism should remain people-centred while avoiding unnecessary barriers for importers and pharmaceutical companies.

Pharma industry’s perspective

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association (PPMA) urged the government to engage industry in the formula review so that the outcome could be workable and sustainable.

PPMA Vice Chairman Usman Shaukat told Dawn that the pharmaceutical industry fully shared the government’s objective that medicines must remain affordable and accessible to every Pakistani.

“No responsible manufacturer seeks an unjustified price increase, and we welcome Senator Ahad Cheema’s direction to expedite pending pricing cases and to review the pricing formula. A fair, transparent and predictable mechanism serves patients and industry alike,” he said.

“However, affordability and availability go hand in hand. The real threat to patients is not a justified price adjustment but a medicine disappearing from the shelf.”

Shaukat noted that products become unviable when the cost of active ingredients, packaging, energy, freight and compliance rises — most of which is imported and relies on the dollar — and prices remain frozen for years.

“Manufacturers are then forced to stop production, which creates shortages and pushes patients towards costlier imported alternatives, smuggled stock or spurious medicines,“ he explained.

Shaukat said that the industry supports the use of international benchmarks and independent databases, provided comparisons account for the cost of doing business within Pakistan, high financing costs, exchange-rate exposure and the fact that Pakistani medicine prices are already among the lowest in the region.

“Benchmarks should be a tool for fairness, not a ceiling that ignores input costs,” he highlighted.

“PPMA proposes that the revised formula include a clear, time-bound and rules-based mechanism, including periodic CPI and cost-linked adjustments, so that hardship cases do not pile up and decisions are not delayed for years,” Shaukat added.

• Spox rejects reports about core committee being ‘sidelined’
• ‘Strengthening’ of parliamentary body suggested, but not decided, says Panjutha

ISLAMABAD: Amid a deluge of reports suggesting a change in the party’s decision-making structure, the PTI on Sunday rejected the notion that its core committee had been ‘sidelined’, or its powers re-designated to another body.

Sheikh Waqas Akram, the party’s central information secretary, said the core committee, the political com­mittee and the parliamentary party were separate forums, each with their own, distinct responsibilities.

Organisational and political decisions fell within the remit of the core and political committees, while the parliamentary party dealt with legislative and parliamentary issues.

He said the parliamentary party’s recommendations were given due consideration and could be referred to the relevant committees, adding that final authority over all decisions rested with PTI founder Imran Khan, who had delegated powers to the committees.

PTI leader Naeem Haider Panjutha told Dawn that during a meeting, Bar­rister Ali Zafar had suggested stren­gthening the parliamentary committee, but it was just a recommendation and no such decision was made.

“Imran Khan had entrusted the political committee with the authority to make decisions, while directing that the core committee should also be… taken into confidence before decisions were finalised. The core committee had a large membership, which made decision-making difficult. That was one of the reasons for forming the political committee — to facilitate decisions and reduce the chances of discussions being leaked,” he said.

He said that there was also a proposal to include heads of the party’s organisational bodies in the political committee.

“Subsequently, the mandate for the movement and negotiations was given to Mahmood Khan Achakzai and Raja Nasir Abbas, while Sohail Afridi was entrusted with the authority to lead the street movement. How can any change be made without Imran Khan’s approval?” he questioned.

Furthermore, the PTI also rejected a statement attributed to PTI interim chief Barrister Gohar Ali Khan suggesting that the KP chief minister could have avoided detention by staying in Mardan but he travelled to Peshawar as part of a “pre-planned master plan”.

Imran, Bushra’s ‘ordeal’

Meanwhile, in a separate statement, the party condemned the prolonged detention of its founder and his wife, the denial of their fundamental and constitutional rights, and the use of state machinery to intimidate political opponents.

The party warned that continued disregard for constitutional safeguards, due process and the sanctity of private homes was setting an alarming precedent that could threaten rights and freedoms of all citizens.

In a statement, Mr Akram claimed that Imran Khan had spent 1,177 days in detention at Adiala Jail, including 356 days in solitary confinement, while Bushra Bibi had remained behind bars for more than 911 days.

He said that the prolonged detention of both, restrictions on their meetings with family members, lawyers and party leaders, and growing concerns about Mr Khan’s health and medical care required immediate attention.

He demanded that Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi be granted all their legal, fundamental and constitutionally guaranteed rights, including regular meetings with family members, lawyers and the party leadership.

He called for appropriate medical care under the supervision of Imran Khan’s personal physician and a comprehensive examination by qualified medical specialists.

He also condemned the continued detention of Imran Khan’s sisters, despite the completion of their reported 30-day detention under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) law.

He demanded their immediate release, along with that of detained PTI leaders, elected representatives and party workers, adding that preventive detention must not become an instrument for punishing political dissent or silencing opposition voices.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2026

ISLAMABAD: The capital’s police have introduced a new leave policy to ease difficulties faced by officers and officials in obtaining leave and ensure, for the first time, that all personnel get at least one day of weekly rest, it emerged on Sunday.

According to an order issued by the Islamabad inspector general (IG), dated Oct 23 and available with Dawn, the policy delegates leave-sanctioning powers to officers at different levels and supersedes all previous instructions, including the leave policy issued in 2022.

The policy stipulates that at least one day of weekly rest must be provided to every officer and official, without counting it as leave.

Under the new rules, male police employees will ordinarily be entitled to 10 days’ marriage leave, while female personnel will be allowed one month, subject to approval by the competent authority.

“Officers and officials belonging to remote districts of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Chitral, Gilgit-Baltistan and erstwhile Fata, may opt for either one day of weekly rest or seven days’ rest after every 45 days of duty, or 14 days’ rest after every 90 days of duty,” the order read.

The policy places a 10 per cent ceiling on the number of personnel who can take casual leave at one time, while the combined limit for earned and ex-Pakistan leave is 3pc of the strength of a unit or office.

It also provides for maternity or paternity and medical leave, delegating powers for sanctioning such leaves according to rank.

Police personnel appearing in Central Superior Services or Provincial Civil Service examinations can be granted up to 20 days’ leave, while those appearing in interviews may receive up to 15 days, subject to approval.

However, the order clarified that leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right and may be refused or cancelled by the competent authority in the interest of the department or because of official exigencies.

The new policy has been prepared in consultation with officers of different ranks, with suggestions for further improvement invited through the proper channel.