saturdAY former pakistan pm Imran Khan, wife sentenced for corruption 18 january, 2025 epaper.morningstandard.in A Pakistani court sentenced jailed former PM Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 14 and seven years in prison respectively in a graft case facebook.com/TheMorningStandard X.com/TheMornStandard Imran Khan (right) with his wife Bushra Bibi | file photo $240 mn i n d i a n n at i o n a l attempted attack on WHite house said to be misappropriated by khan and his accomplice all about the al-qadir trust case Sai Varshith Kandula, 20, on Thursday was sentenced to eight years for an attempted attack on the White House with a rented truck on May 22, 2023. A CAPITAL VIEW OF NEWS Page 9 l New Delhi l J8.00 l The couple are accused of accepting a gift of land from Malik Riaz, a realty tycoon. The case centres on allegations that $240 million, returned to Pakistan by the UK as part of a settlement with Malik Riaz, was misused. Instead of going into the national treasury, the funds were redirected to benefit the businessman who helped Khan and Bibi establish a university | P9 PAGES 12 MUDA scam manifesto vs proposal BJP promises `5 meals at Atal ... AAP proposes free bus ride, canteens, `2,500 for women... 50% metro rebate for students ED attaches `300 cr worth assets in case linked to Siddu ANU P V E R M A @ New Delhi A n u p V e r m a @ New Delhi E X P R E S S N E W S S E R V IC E The BJP released its manifesto on Friday promising a range , of benefits, including `2,500 monthly assistance for women, a `500 subsidy on LPG cylinders, and medical insurance coverage of up to `10 lakh for every resident. While unveiling the party’s manifesto for the Assembly polls, BJP national president JP Nadda pledged to set up Atal canteens, where food will be provided to the poor for just `5. Also, every pregnant woman in the capital will receive a pregnancy nutrition kit that includes `21,000 cash assistance, and senior citizens will be eligible for a pension of `2,500. All existing public welfare schemes in Delhi will continue if the BJP is voted to power, he assured. “The BJP’s resolution for a developed Delhi prioritises the empowerment of women and the welfare of senior citizens,” he said. Nadda said all corruption allegations related to the welfare schemes being run by the AAP government will be investigated. A BJP-led Delhi government would implement the ‘ yA ushman Bharat’ in its first Cabinet meeting, which would FIVE years after former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced free metro rides for women but failed to deliver, the AAP supremo on Friday wrote to PM Narendra Modi, requesting a 50% concession on metro fares for students. Urging the Centre to collaborate with the Delhi government in sharing the cost of the initiative, Kejriwal emphasised in the letter that a significant number of school and college students rely heavily on the metros for their daily commute to and from their educational institutions. “After the elections, we will implement free bus travel for students and hopefully a 50% concession for students travelling by metro. This announcement is a step towards creating a more equitable and accessible education system,” he said. In 2018, BJP leader Hardeep Singh Puri had first proposed concessions for students and senior citizens. By 2019, Puri had shared that a technologybased approach would soon be ready to provide relief to students and senior citizens in need. However, nothing seemed to have moved since then. THE Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Bengaluru, has provisionally attached 142 immovable properties with a market value of about `300 crore under the money laundering act, in connection with a case against Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and others. The attached properties are in the names of individuals w o rk i n g a s r e a l e s t a t e businessmen and agents, according to a statement issued by the ED. The ED launched an investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by Lokayukta Police, Mysuru, under various Sections of IPC, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, against Siddaramaiah and others. The Lokayukta Police are investigating the MUDA sites allotment case against Siddaramaiah and others. It is alleged that Siddaramaiah used his political influence to get 14 compensation sites in the name of his wife B M Parvathi in lieu of 3 acres and 16 guntas of land acquired by MUDA. The land was acquired by MUDA for `3,24,700. Budget session to begin on January 31 Parliament’s Budget session will begin on January 31. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will table her 8th straight budget on February 1 | P7 Several clues found in Saif case, says CM A g e n c i es @ Mumbai A day after actor Saif Ali Khan was stabbed multiple times in Mumbai home, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said the police have found several clues in the case and will arrest the culprit soon. Fadnavis, who holds the home portfolio, said: “Police investigation is going on.... they have got many clues and I feel the police will very soon zero in.” M o r e than 30 teams are on the lookout for the culprit. And minister ruled out an underworld link to the brutal attack. The police picked up a carpenter as he resembled the intruder, and brought him to the Bandra police station for questioning, but released him later. “This seems to be a stray incident. The intruder was not working for any gang as per prima facie investigation. He probably was not even aware whose house he had entered in,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity . Meanwhile, Lilavati Hospital neurosurgeon Nitin Dange, who operated on the actor, said that Saif is doing “excellently well” and can be discharged from the hospital in two-three days. provide an additional health cover of `5 lakh, he added. Nadda announced several pro-women measures, including `2,500 monthly aid for them under ‘Mahila Samridhi Yojana’, surpassing the AAP’s poll promise of `2,100. He also promised LPG cylinders at `500 for the poor section, with one free cylinder to be provided on Holi and Diwali. He promised `2,500 pension for senior citizens between the age of 60-70 and `3,000 for those older than 70, widows, and persons with disabilities. Ayushman Bharat decision in 1st meet J P Nadda said if BJP comes to power it will implement ‘Ayushman Bharat’ in its first cabinet meeting and provide every pregnant woman a nutrition kit that includes `21,000 cash assistance. He said senior citizens would be eligible for a pension of `2,500. All corruption allegations related to the welfare schemes being run by the AAP government will be investigated, he added. BJP’s resolution for a developed Delhi prioritises empowerment of women and welfare of senior citizens such as free treatment of up to `10 lakh and free OPD and diagnostic services for citizens above 70 J P Nadda, BJP president @ Bengaluru Kejriwal writes to PM seeking Centre help For the past two years, the student unions of Delhi University have been demanding for metro passes. The BJP dismissed Kejriwal’s demand, calling it a political gimmick. “If he was serious, he would have implemented it by now. Why send letters when polls have been announced,” asked BJP leader Praveen Shankar Kapoor. At a press meet on Friday Ke, jriwal said the government is in the process of launching a plan to make bus travel free for students.  More reports on pg 3 Arvind Kejriwal said women can already travel free of cost in public buses under an AAP government scheme launched in 2019. He wrote to PM Modi urging the Centre to collaborate with Delhi government in sharing the cost of the initiative — a 50% concession on metro fares for students. He said a significant number of school and college students rely heavily on the metros. Education is the foundation for the nation’s advancement. There are many underprivileged children whose education gets interrupted as they lack financial means to attend school or college Arvind Kejriwal, AAP national convener Israel nod to truce deal a step away BJP sets up committee First hostages to be freed Sunday; Hamas required to furnish hostage names by Saturday Naysayer in cabinet a p & a g e n c i es @ Jerusalem ISRAEL’s security cabinet on Friday recommended approval of a ceasefire deal after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed an agreement had been reached that would pause the 15-month war with Hamas in Gaza and release dozens of hostages held by militants there. Mediators Qatar and the US announced the ceasefire on Wednesday, but the deal was uncertain as Netanyahu insisted there were last-minute snags he blamed on Hamas. The truce deal now goes to the full Israeli cabinet for its final approval. The cabinet is Israel’s National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir threatened to quit if a ceasefire is approved, although his resignation wouldn’t derail the ceasefire deal. His resignation could, however, destabilise the coalition govt cobbled together by Netanyahu expected to approve the pact. Netanyahu instructed a special task force to prepare to receive hostages returning from Gaza, and said their families were informed about the deal. The prime minister’s office said the ceasefire could start Sunday when the first hostages are freed. Under the deal, 33 of some 100 hostages in Gaza will be released over six weeks in exchange for hundreds of Palestinians imprisoned by Israel. As for Israel, its forces will have to pull back from many areas in Gaza, allowing hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to return to what’s left of their homes. The remaining hostages, including male soldiers, are to be released in a second — and much more difficult — phase. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir voted against the deal at the security cabinet, but were in a minority . Israel’s Justice Ministry published a list of Palestinian prisoners slated for release in the first phase. The list includes 95 women and children held in Israeli jails. The deal stipulates that Hamas provide Israel with names of the hostages it will release by Sunday P9 . khel ratnas President Droupadi Murmu confers the Khel Ratnas to (from left) Paris Olympic double medallist Manu Bhaker, Paris Para-Olympics gold winner Praveen Kumar, Paris hockey medallist Harmanpreet Singh and world chess champion D Gukesh at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday | PTI | P11 to shape public opinion on ‘one nation, one poll’ RAJ E S H K U M AR THA K UR & JAYANTH JACO B @ New Delhi Shivraj Chouhan to lead outreach Signalling its resolve to roll out the ‘one nation, one election’ plan, the BJP has constituted a high-powered committee chaired by Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan to shape public opinion and align its own state and local body governments with the importance of the idea. BJP leaders Sunil Bansal, Om Prakash Dhankhar, Surendra Nagar, Kamakhaya Prasad Tasa and Anil Antony are the other members of the panel. The six-member team will plan the outreach programmes and campaigns in this regard even as a Joint Parliamentary Committee on the matter, chaired by BJP’s P P Chaudhary is deliberating the issue. , In March last year, a panel led by former President Ram Nath Kovind proposed the idea of holding state and general elections simultaneously in its 18,626-page report. An introductory meeting of Six-member panel, led by Shivraj Singh Chauhan, to direct campaigns and outreach initiatives Constant poll preoccupation is disrupting development, says BJP the Chouhan-led committee has already been held, and a detailed one will take place in the coming days, where the complete roadmap for the plan will be chalked out, sources told this newspaper. The panel may also be expanded, they added. According to a BJP functionary the plan is to draw a strat, egy to bring on board every stake holder as the party is confident of getting past the hurdles for passing the necessary constitutional amendments. The BJP wants to have a synchronised approach from its leaders, office-bearers, legislators, and local body representatives to “constantly and comprehensively” address the topic in public forums. It also intends to engage bar associations, chambers of commerce, women’s self-help groups and student outfits in the campaign. Resolve TN Guv-govt issues 370 ‘corrupt’ Haryana patwaris identified & named or we’ll set it right, says SC H a r p r ee t B a j w a @ Chandigarh S u c h i t r a K a lya n M o h a n t y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday said if the pending issues between Governor R N Ravi and the Tamil Nadu government, including selection and appointment of Vice-Chancellors (V-Cs) to state universities, are not resolved by the next date of hearing, the court will intervene to resolve the issues. A two-judge bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan made the remarks after hearing an interlocutory application filed by TN challenging the inaction of the governor in deciding on bills, files relating to sanction for prosecution, and selection and appointment of V-Cs. “By the next date, if it is resolved well and good. Otherwise, we will resolve it,” the bench said, and fixed the next hearing to January 22. Two writ petitions have been filed by TN against Ravi regarding delay in deciding on bills passed by the legislature and files submitted by the state. For the first time, the Haryana government has identified 370 “corrupt” patwaris (revenue officials), with the department asking concerned deputy commissioners to act against them and report back in a fortnight. In a confidential letter to deputy commissioners, additional chief secretary (revenue) Anurag Rastogi on January 14 wrote, “As the common person has to go to the patwaris for their work, such corruption by the patwaris adversely affects the government image.” Sources said in a first-ever crackdown against corruption in the department, the government released a list of 370 patwaris highlighting how they had kept personal helpers and charged convenience fees for simple works. While Kaithal district has the maximum of 46 corrupt pat- waris, Sonepat followed with 41. The rest are, Mahendragarh (36), Gurugram (27), Fatehabad (25), Jahajjar(20), Kurukshetra (23), Palwal (17), Rewari (16), Yamunagar (14). Sirsa, Hisar and Hansi had 13 each and Bhiwani 10. The government has also identified 170 middlemen who Action to be taken within 15 days For the first time, the govt has identified 370 “corrupt” patwaris, with the revenue department asking concerned deputy commissioners to act against them and report back in a fortnight. Also, 170 middlemen have been identified who allegedly take bribes on behalf of the patwaris. allegedly take bribes on behalf of the patwaris. The highest middlemen are in Gurugram (26), followed by Mahendragarh (20). Sonepat, Palwal, and Rewari districts had 15 each and 14 in Yamunagar. Sources said that the revenue department prepared the report after taking inputs from the intelligence wing of Haryana Police. As per the report, in Gurugram, patwaris allegedly charge bribes of `4,000 and `5,000 per land mutation. In Faridabad, the going rate to locate old revenue files is between `500 and `700.