KOLLAM l saturday l January 18, 2025 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION former pakistan pm Imran Khan, wife sentenced for corruption 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 Imran Khan (right) with his wife Bushra Bibi | file photo all about the al-qadir trust case pti cadres livid; imran can file appeal 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 ■ ■ The judgment comes amidst the ongoing negotiation between the government and Khan’s PTI to address the instability in Pakistan Shortly after the verdict, lawmakers from Khan’s PTI protested outside Parliament in Islamabad, saying the former PM had been wrongly punished. Khan can file an appeal against the order | P9 $240 mn said to be misappropriated by khan and his accomplice CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Israel nod to truce deal a step away Greeshma guilty of First hostages to be freed on Sunday; Hamas required to furnish hostage names by Saturday Naysayer in cabinet a p & a g enc 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 . BJP decides to go all out on one-nation-one-poll plan RAJESH KUMAR THAKUR & J AYA N T H J A C O B @ New Delhi 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 Chauhan 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 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 leader 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 the Chauhan-led committee has already been held, and a detailed meeting will take place in the coming days, where the complete roadmap for the plan will be chalked out, sources told this newspaper. The committee may also be expanded, they said. 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. MUDA scam Sharon Raj murder, sentencing today ED attaches `300 cr worth assets in case linked to Siddu E x p ress N ews S erv i ce EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE @ T’Puram @ Bengaluru The Neyyattinkara Additional Sessions Court has found Greeshma, a native of Ramavarmanchira in Kanyakumari district, guilty of murdering her boyfriend Sharon Raj, 23, by administering him an ayurvedic concoction laced with a lethal herbicide in 2022. The court found the 24-yearold guilty of all charges levelled against her, including murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence. Greeshma’s uncle Nirmalakumaran Nair was convicted on charges of destroying evidence, while her mother Sindhu was let off for want of evid e n c e. T h e q u a n t u m o f punishment will be announced on Saturday . Sharon Raj, a BSc radiology student and a resident of Parassala, died while undergoing treatment at the Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram. Sharon had suffered irreversible damage to his liver, kidney and lungs after he consumed the deadly concoction given by Greeshma on October 14 , 2022. The drink was 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 working as real estate 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. Greeshma Sharon Raj DEADLY DRINK On October 14, 2022, Greeshma administered Sharon Raj an ayurvedic concoction laced with a lethal herbicide, said prosecution Eleven days after, Sharon, who suffered irreversible damage to his liver, kidney and lungs, died while undergoing treatment at Thiruvananthapuram MCH prepared by mixing paraquat dichloride with an ayurvedic medicine. Sharon died of multiple organ failure 11 days later. The crime branch that probed the case found that Greeshma bumped off Sharon to marry an Army man from Nagercoil. According to the prosecution, Sharon and Greeshma had been in a relationship since 2021. ● More on P4