Information Blog

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday approved an increase in the salaries and judicial allowances of the judges of Supreme Court and high courts.

The President signed the summary at a ceremony here at the Presidency, which was attended among others by Dr. Babar Awan, minister for Law & Justice, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Qamar Zaman Kaira, Advisor to the Prime Minister Sardar Latif Khosa and senior government officials.

The increase has been made following amendments in President’s Orders 1, 2 & 3 on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, a press release from the President House said.

According to the amendments a Supreme Court judge will now get a salary of Rs 245,457 against his earlier salary of Rs 188,813. A high court judge will get Rs 231,563 per month against Rs 178,125, which he is drawing at present.

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court has been given an increase of Rs 60,000 per month and will now draw Rs 259,838, while the chief justice of a high court would get Rs 240,825 per month instead of Rs 185,250.

Apart from the salary, the judicial allowance of the judges of Supreme Court and high courts has also been increased. Chief Justice and judges of Supreme Court would now be taking a judicial allowance of Rs 113,750 per month as against Rs 87,500.

Similarly, Chief justice and Judges of High court will now be getting 91,000 as against 70,000 after increase in their judicial allowance.

The salary and allowances are allowed to the judges of the Supreme Court under paras 1 and 2 of the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution (Supreme Court part) while the salary and allowances of the judges of High court are allowed under paras 1 & 2 of the Fifth schedule (High court part) of the constitution.

The President, under the provision of the Fifth schedule to the constitution fixes the amounts of salary and allowances of the judges of Supreme Court and high courts through President’s order.

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Tuesday signed the ‘Protection Against Harassment of Women Bill 2010′ with a pledge to pursue the commitment made by Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto for the emancipation and uplift of womenfolk.

“We have to create a Pakistan where the coming generations, my daughters, can be proud of the fact that they live as equals. We will make sure that those who wish to harm the ideology of Quaid-e-Azam which was for equality, for men and women, shall not succeed,” said the President.

He was addressing a gathering of women from different walks of life, after signing the historic legislation here at the President House.

He paid rich tribute to the women who over the generations had strived for their rights since long and described them as “really a tribute to God’s divine creation.”

The enactment of the Protection Against Harassment of Women Bill 2010 aims at creating a safe working environment for women, which is free from harassment, abuse and intimidation, he added.

President Zardari said the struggle for the rights of women in Pakistan has been long and difficult.

“We believe in equal rights and equal opportunities for men and women,” he added.

President Zardari earlier signed a bill on January 29 to uphold the dignity of women as their basic right and to seek an end to violence. The bill aims at making women feel safe both in private and public spheres, while the other bill that he signed today aims at providing mechanism for addressing complaints of harassment.

The bill signed by the President aims at creating a safe working environment for women that is free of harassment, abuse and intimidation with a view towards fulfillment of their right to work with dignity.

The bill requires all public and private organizations to adopt an internal Code of Conduct and a complain or appeals mechanism aimed at establishing a safe working environment, free of intimidation and abuse, for all working women.

Under the bill each organization shall constitute an Inquiry Committee, comprising of three members – including one female member, within 30 days to enquire into complaints.

Upon receiving a written complaint, the inquiry committee would give the accused a formal written receipt of the charges and statement of allegations levelled against him within three days.

The Inquiry Committee shall have power to regulate its own procedure for conducting an inquiry and for fixing the place and time of its sittings.

ISLAMABAD: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman said Tuesday that appointing the serving Chief Justice as the head of Judicial Commission was in contradiction of the Constitution.

Speaking to media men outside the Parliament House, he said that his party would write the opposing note about the formation of judicial commission in the Constitutional Reforms Committee.

Referring to the charter of democracy (CoD), he said that any judge, who took oath under the PCO, could not be named the head of commission.

Rehman said that the Parliament’s job was to make legislation and that the CRC was performing its job amicably. However, he said that efforts were being made to put pressure on the committee.

The JUI-F chief said that the CRC work was suffering through newspapers

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama warned on Monday that women in America still faced unfairness and hardship, as he vowed to fight for gender equality at a White House reception on International Women’s Day.

“I didn’t run for president so that the dreams of our daughters could be deferred or denied,” Obama said.

“I didn’t run for president to see inequality and injustice persist in our time.”

Obama was joined by his wife First Lady Michelle Obama, the first female secretary of state Madeleine Albright, and his rival-turned-ally and current top US diplomat Hillary Clinton at an event in the East Room of the White House.

“Even as we reflect on the hope of our history, we must also face squarely the reality of the present — a reality marked by unfairness, marked by hardship for too many women in America,” Obama said.

“I ran for president to put the same rights, the same opportunities, the same dreams within the reach for our daughters and our sons alike.”

The president also praised Clinton and US ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice for making the alleviation of suffering of women a priority in US foreign policy, including lifting restrictions on access to family planning.

Michelle Obama introduced her husband with a joke: “I get to speak first while he stands and watches. I love this,” she said to laughter.

“Look at me adoringly,” she told her husband.

“I can do that,” the president quipped.

“With sincerity,” she said, sparking loud laughs.

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith discussed a range of bilateral issues during a telephonic conversation on Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministers expressed satisfaction over growing bilateral ties especially in education, agriculture and health sectors as well as cooperation in counter terrorism.

Reiterating his invitation, Stephen Smith hoped that the Pakistan Foreign Minister would be able to visit Australia soon. Both sides expected concrete outcomes from the Foreign Minister’s visit.

The Australian Foreign Minister welcomed the recent Foreign Secretary level meeting between India and Pakistan in New Delhi and hoped that the meeting would lead to the resumption of dialogue process.

He also expressed sympathy over the deadly terrorist attack in Lahore on Monday, which claimed many innocent lives.