Month: July 2026

Islamabad: The Supreme Court of Pakistan has ruled that a plaint cannot be rejected under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) merely because the court believes the plaintiff may ultimately fail to prove the allegations.

The court held that where a plaint contains the essential facts constituting a legally recognizable cause of action, it cannot be dismissed without recording evidence and conducting a proper trial.

A three-member bench comprising Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Shahid Waheed and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui announced the verdict on a petition filed by citizen Nisar Ahmad Afzal. The majority judgment was authored by Justice Shahid Waheed, while Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui wrote a dissenting note.

The apex court set aside the judgments of the Islamabad High Court and the trial court, restored the plaintiff’s suit and remanded the case to the trial court for a fresh decision in accordance with law after recording evidence.

The judgment observed that the court’s jurisdiction under Order VII Rule 11 is strictly limited to examining whether the facts pleaded in the plaint, if assumed to be true, disclose a legal right and a cause of action. At this stage, the court is not permitted to assess the evidence, determine the truthfulness of the allegations, or evaluate the likelihood of the plaintiff’s success.

The court further clarified that there is a fundamental distinction between the disclosure of a cause of action and its proof. If the plaint contains the material facts necessary to establish a cause of action, it cannot be rejected merely because the court considers it difficult for the plaintiff to prove those facts. Such an approach, the judgment said, would amount to deciding the merits of the case before a full trial, which is contrary to law.

According to the judgment, the plaintiff alleged that he had sold a property located in Sector F-11/2, Islamabad, for PKR 65 million on the basis of trust. However, the agreed sale consideration was never paid, while the property was transferred in the purchaser’s name in breach of the agreement. The court held that these allegations, on their face, disclosed claims of fraud and deceit, the veracity of which could only be determined after recording evidence during trial.

The majority judgment noted that the subordinate courts had erroneously equated the possible difficulty in proving the plaintiff’s claim with the absence of a cause of action, although the two are distinct legal concepts.

In his dissenting opinion, Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui held that the property had been transferred voluntarily and that there had been an agreement to pay the sale consideration later. Therefore, in the event of non-payment, the appropriate legal remedy was recovery of the sale price rather than cancellation of the property transfer. He concluded that the trial court and the Islamabad High Court had rightly rejected the plaint.

Islamabad: The GSMA Digital Nation Pakistan Ministerial Roundtable concluded on Tuesday with a shared Call to Action, reinforcing a collective commitment to sustain Pakistan’s digital momentum through stronger collaboration, sustained investment, and coordinated implementation across government, industry, and development partners.

Senior representatives from Pakistan’s federal and provincial governments, Gilgit-Baltistan, industry, regulators, and development partners convened at the GSMA Digital Nation Pakistan Ministerial Roundtable to identify practical actions that build on Pakistan’s growing digital momentum and accelerate the delivery of Digital Pakistan 2030.

The roundtable was one of the few forums to bring together federal ministries, all four provincial governments, including representation from Gilgit-Baltistan, the national regulator, mobile industry leaders, and international development partners around a shared agenda for Pakistan’s digital future.

This breadth of participation reflected the growing recognition that delivering Digital Pakistan 2030 requires coordinated action across the federal government, provinces, industry, and development partners.

To inform these discussions, the GSMA published a new discussion paper, Digital Pakistan 2030: Building Momentum for Sustainable Investment, Trust and Inclusive Growth, which provided a framework for discussion by highlighting Pakistan’s recent progress and identifying five priorities to help translate today’s momentum into long-term economic and social outcomes.

The discussion paper highlighted the significant progress Pakistan has made in spectrum policy, mobile internet and smartphone adoption, women’s digital inclusion, digital trust, cybersecurity, and stronger collaboration between government and industry.

It argued that these advances have established stronger foundations for future growth while emphasising that continued collaboration between government, industry, and development partners will be essential to sustain momentum, create investment certainty, strengthen trusted digital infrastructure, and deliver coordinated implementation across the digital ecosystem.

“Pakistan has established important foundations for digital growth, and the momentum of the past year is clear, ” said Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA.

“What makes today’s roundtable particularly significant is the opportunity to bring together leaders from across government, industry, and development organisations to discuss the practical actions needed to sustain that momentum. Delivering Digital Pakistan 2030 will depend on continued collaboration, shared priorities, and coordinated implementation across the digital ecosystem.

“Our discussion paper is intended to support those conversations by providing a framework for discussion and identifying where collective action can have the greatest impact. ”

The GSMA discussion paper identified five strategic priorities to build on Pakistan’s digital momentum and support the delivery of Digital Pakistan 2030. These include strengthening investment certainty by building on recent spectrum reforms and creating an environment that supports long-term infrastructure investment; accelerating digital inclusion by reducing the remaining usage gap through greater affordability, digital skills, rural connectivity, and continued progress on women’s digital inclusion; preparing infrastructure for the AI economy through investment in 5G readiness, fibre, data centres, energy resilience, and future spectrum planning; and building trusted digital infrastructure by strengthening cybersecurity, digital identity, child online safety, anti-scam collaboration, and broader digital trust frameworks.

The paper also noted that the success of these priorities depends on strengthening national coordination across government, industry, and development partners to improve implementation and accelerate the delivery of shared priorities.

The paper also outlined a Digital Pakistan 2030 Action Agenda centred on five shared actions: creating investment certainty, accelerating digital inclusion, building trusted digital infrastructure, preparing Pakistan for the AI economy, and strengthening national coordination.

Together, these actions provide a practical framework for government, industry, and development partners to convert today’s momentum into measurable economic and social outcomes.

Islamabad: Pakistan and Qatar have reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral security cooperation, strengthening institutional ties between their interior ministries, and working together to promote regional peace and stability during a high-level meeting between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Qatar’s Interior Minister and Commander of the Internal Security Force (Lekhwiya), Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

The meeting focused on enhancing collaboration across a wide range of security-related sectors, with both ministers holding detailed discussions on ways to deepen their strategic security partnership. They also reiterated their resolve to further strengthen cooperation between the interior ministries of the two countries, emphasizing the importance of sustained engagement in addressing shared security challenges.

Regional developments and the broader security environment also featured prominently in the discussions. Both sides exchanged views on the prevailing situation in the region and underscored the need for continued cooperation in promoting peace, stability, and collective security.

The two ministers agreed to reinforce mutual collaboration and partnership in matters relating to internal security, reflecting the growing strategic convergence between Pakistan and Qatar.

Speaking on the occasion, Naqvi said Pakistan remains firmly committed to expanding cooperation with Qatar in the fields of security and other areas of mutual interest, adding that closer institutional coordination would further strengthen the longstanding relationship between the two friendly nations.

During the meeting, Naqvi also conveyed his heartfelt condolences to his Qatari counterpart on the passing of his father, former Amir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. He paid tribute to the late leader’s remarkable contributions to Qatar’s development and modernization, acknowledging his enduring legacy in transforming the country into a leading regional and global player.

The Qatari Interior Minister reaffirmed his country’s high regard for its relationship with Pakistan, stating that Qatar attaches great importance to bilateral ties and would continue working closely with Pakistan to further strengthen cooperation across areas of shared interest.