In India, the story of the day is the decision by the Uttarakhand High Court to scrap the Union’s decision to impose President’s rule in the state. In Pakistan, Panama Papers’ connection to the Prime Minister has been making headlines.

India

High Court scraps President’s rule in Uttarakhand

The High Court in the sate of Uttarakhand, where President’s rule was declared on March 26 in the wake of a rebellion in the ruling Congress, has scrapped the Centre’s decision . The Indian Express in its five-column story has a headline that reads, ” High Court throws Centre out of State.” The report says, “In a powerful indictment of the central government, Uttarakhand High Court Thursday said the decision to impose President’s Rule “undermines the foundation of federalism” and “breeds cynicism in the hearts of citizens who participate in a democratic system.” According to reports, the High Court has fixed a ‘floor test’ (in which the state government’s majority will be tested) for April 29.

The Hindu also has a report on the development. It says the decision is a setback to the Modi government, which had approached the President to prove that there was a breakdown of the constitutional machinery.

Pakistan

Nawaz’s Panama connection

A day after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said he wanted a commission to look into the Panama Papers’ controversy, the Election Commission of Pakistan has said that Prime Minister Nawaz has no assets abroad, but continues to receive “colossal amounts from his son, Hussain Nawaz, who is settled in the UK,”

According to the statements of assets for 2015, released by the commission amidst the ongoing controversy around the Panama Papers leak, which linked politicians with offshore companies, the value of the assets owned by the prime minister and his spouse comes to around Rs2 billion — an increase of over a billion in just four years, the Dawn reports.

Bangladesh

A probe commission formed to look into the stealing of billions of dollars from the central bank by a group of hackers few months ago has accused central bank officials of gross negligence. According to Dhaka Tribune, former Bangladesh Bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin, who led the probe body, handed over an interim report to Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Wednesday evening. Both the minister and the committee have refused to comment on the findings.