Islamabad: Pakistan's Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to former premier Yousuf Raza Gilani and other officials to respond to allegations that the previous Pakistan Peoples Party-led government closed a probe into corruption in organising the Haj pilgrimage. A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry, which is investigating a multi-million rupee scam in organising the Haj, also issued notices to the Law Ministry and the Attorney General and directed the respondents to clarify their position regarding the "exemption" granted to the former premier.
The bench observed that the Law Ministry wrote a letter to the Investigation Officer, Hussain Asghar, and directed him not to conduct a probe against Gilani as he enjoyed immunity under the Constitution. The bench directed the Law Ministry to present a copy of the letter and to explain the reasons for writing the letter. The Chief Justice questioned how Gilani could seek exemption as he was no longer the premier.
Gilani had to resign as premier in 2012 after the apex court convicted him of contempt for refusing to reopen a graft case against President Asif Ali Zardari. During the hearing in the apex court, Investigation Officer Asghar alleged that Gilani's assets had increased "dramatically" after the Haj scam. He said the Law Ministry had directed him not to proceed with the inquiry against Gilani.
The Chief Justice sought details about the persons arrested in connection with the scandal and Asghar replied that former Religious Affairs Minister Hamid Saeed Kazmi was
12:38 AM, Apr 10, 2013
Twenty-three people, including children and women, have been killed in an accident that took place near Patan in Gujarat late on Wednesday night. 18 other people were injured when the van they were travelling in, was hit by a Gujarat state transport bus. ...
08:18 AM, Jan 31, 2013
Sabarimala: As the popularity of the famous Hindu temple at Sabarimala increases with each year, authorities are faced with a huge garbage problem. This year, 35,000 big bags of garbage were taken out from the shrine complex and the foothills in a massive clean-up operation initiated by by the Mata Amritanandamayi Mutt. As happened last year, this year too more than 5,000 volunteers arrived for the first round of clean-up...
11:42 AM, Nov 29, 2012
Sabarimala: Five days after the Sabarimala pilgrimage season opened, some unsavoury reports about prasadam and fleecing of pilgrims have come in, but administrators say it is just media sensationalism. As one climbs the hill from the base point at Pamba to reach the temple atop, traditional crackers being burst is the first point of fleecing pilgrims. A Rs 5 fire cracker is being sold for Rs 10 to pilgrims. At...
02:32 PM, Nov 20, 2012
Kochi: Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama will inaugurate the Sivagiri Mutt's 80th annual pilgrimage at Varkala on November 24 and attend a host of functions during his two day visit to Kerala. The Nobel laureate will be chief guest in the Catholicate Centenary celebrations and the anniversary function of the Orthodox church here on Nov 25, a press release said. The spiritual leader will give a private audience at a...
11:27 AM, Nov 19, 2012
Thiruvananthapuram: The famous Sabarimala temple pilgrimage season is all set to begin when the sanctum sanctorum opens in the early hours of Friday. The pilgrimage season coincides with the first day of Malayalam month 'Vrishickam' (this year it falls on Nov 16). Situated on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats, at an altitude of 914 metres above sea level, Sabarimala temple is four kilometres uphill from Pamba in Pathanamthitta...
11:03 AM, Nov 15, 2012
New Delhi: Law Minister Salman Khurshid, who is embroiled in a controversy over allegations of misappropriation of funds by his trust, has put off his Haj pilgrimage, according to sources close to him. His decision to put off the week-long visit for Haj also comes amid speculation of an impending reshuffle in the Union Cabinet. Khurshid was scheduled to leave for Haj on Sunday. He has been under attack from...
06:54 PM, Oct 21, 2012
New Delhi: The Supreme Court has slashed the quota for subsidies for the Haj pilgrimage given to dignitaries and the Haj Committee of India. The Supreme Court has slashed the VIP quota to 450 seats from the earlier 3,050 seats. In total, there were 11000 reserved seats, and 3050 were reserved for VIPs. The court has limited the allocation of discretionary quota to the President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External...
02:20 PM, Jul 23, 2012
Srinagar: The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on Monday said 100 post offices across the country would register devotees for the annual pilgrimage this year. The post offices are located in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar and Gujarat, an SASB spokesman said. The list of all the 100 post offices was available on the website of the Board, he said. The post offices would start registering pilgrims from...
04:39 PM, May 07, 2012
New Delhi: The Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) started the registration for the annual pilgrimage to the cave shrine devoted to Lord Shiva on Monday. The annual pilgrimage is scheduled to start on June 25, but the registration process across the country started much earlier to enable the state administration to make suitable arrangements for the pilgrims. The pilgrimage will end with Raksha Bandhan on Aug 2. The process of...
10:52 AM, May 07, 2012
HYDERABAD: With the ACB turning up the heat on them, the shadow players who used white ration card holders to corner liquor licences are sending them on urgent pilgrimages to prevent anticorruption personnel from asking them difficult questions. Faced with locked houses and absent below-povertyline liquor licence holders, the ACB is taking pains to assure them that its target is not the poor proxies but the puppeteers behind them.The agency...
08:58 AM, Apr 18, 2012
New Delhi: The Centre has informed the Supreme Court that it has decided to restrict Haj pilgrimage at government subsidy to Muslims only as a "once in a lifetime" affair as against the existing policy of "once in five years". In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the government said the new guidelines have been framed to ensure that priority is given to those applicants who have never performed...
10:47 AM, Apr 15, 2012
New Delhi: In the wake of Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna's statement on Haj subsidy, BJP on Tuesday demanded that the government should make it clear if it was seriously thinking of withdrawing it. "Till the recent Assembly elections, this government was talking about religion-based reservation but now a senior minister is saying that Haj subsidy should be withdrawn. This shows that there is definitely a change of heart...
01:32 AM, Apr 04, 2012
Kochi: Minister of External Affairs S M Krishna has suggested that the Union government is planning to do away with the subsidy given on Haj pilgrimage. Talking to reporters in Kochi on Monday, the External Affairs Minister said that a number of Muslim organizations had demanded the abolition of the subsidy. Krishna said, "A large number of Muslim organisations have approached the Centre seeking abolition of the subsidy concept for...
06:22 PM, Apr 02, 2012
Panaji: Politicians in Goa have suddenly begun sponsoring pilgrimages to Hindu and Christian religious sites with gusto - possibly hoping for "divine intervention" in the March 3 polls. Both aspiring candidates as well as Election Commission officials acknowledge that Hindu and Christian voters were being sponsored for pilgrimages to Shirdi in Maharashtra - known as the destination of Sai Baba devotees - and to Vailankanni in Tamil Nadu, a famous...
02:53 PM, Jan 18, 2012
TIRUMALA: Utter chaos prevailed at Tirumala on Thursday as lakhs of devotees thronged Lord Venkateswara temple for Vaikuntha Dwara Darshanam on the auspicious Vaikunta Ekadasi. The Tirumala-Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) plans for comfortable darshan simply fell apart. It were the ordinary devotees who suffered the most despite having on hand different types of darshan tickets introduced by the TTD for the occasion. The entire queue system was mismanaged. Commotion took place...
10:04 AM, Jan 06, 2012
Stampedes have been known to occur frequently during the two month-long Sabarimala pilgrimage. ...
08:54 PM, Nov 17, 2011
Sabarimala: The Sabarimala pilgrimage in Kerala, during which over 100 pilgrims were killed in a stampede early this year, began early on Thursday morning as the sanctum sanctorum of the famed temple here was opened. At 3 a.m. sharp on the first day of Malayalam month Vrishickam, temple melshanthi N. Balamurali opened the doors for the two-month-long pilgrimage season amid shouts of 'Swamiye Sharanamayappa'. The temple, situated on a hilltop,...
02:39 PM, Nov 17, 2011
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the flow of Sabarimala pilgrims to the city set to begin from next week, the City Corporation has come up with elaborate arrangements with regard to parking and other amenities. Mayor K Chandrika told a press conference here on Wednesday that the parking for buses carrying pilgrims which used to be parked in front of the Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple and its premises has now been arranged at Attukal...
08:57 AM, Nov 17, 2011
