The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday acquitted PML-N MNA Chaudhry Abid Raza and three others in a murder case, DawnNewsTV reported.

A two-member LHC division bench comprising Justice Sardar Shamim Ahmad and Justice Shehbaz Rizvi was hearing the case.

A trial court had sentenced Raza in 1999 under Section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code and Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) for murdering six people. The conviction was challenged before the LHC but was dismissed when both parties reached a compromise. The death sentence was revoked in 2003 by a division bench.

In 2016, the Supreme Court suspended the 2003 judgement and remanded the case to the LHC.

Last month, the LHC bench that was hearing the case, had appointed a criminal law expert as amicus curiae (friend of court) to decide whether an offence under Section 7 of the ATA was compoundable (reconcilable).

During today's hearing, the MNA's lawyer had argued that Raza was acquitted after an agreement with the complainant. The state lawyer, however, said that a compromise deed did not hold in a terrorism case and urged the court to reinstate the trial court's verdict that was issued in 1999.

Previously, the counsel for MNA and other convicts had claimed that Section 7 of the ATA was not added in the case. They argued that the high court would have to hear the appeal against the conviction on merits if it maintained death penalty under the special law.

The counsel had further said that the omission from conviction under section 7 of ATA in the 2003 decision was on part of the court and the acquitted convicts could not be punished for that error.

The bench, in its ruling today, suspended the trial court's decision in its verdict and acquitted four people, including Raza, MNA from NA-71 (Gujrat).

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde on Thursday confirmed that Pakistan has formally requested financial assistance from the fund to address its economic challenges.

Lagarde said in a statement that the request came during her meeting with Finance Minister Asad Umar and State Bank Governor Tariq Bajwa on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank annual meetings in Bali.

"An IMF team will visit Islamabad in the coming weeks to initiate discussions for a possible IMF-supported economic programme," Lagarde said. "We look forward to our continuing partnership."

Pakistan began exploring the possibility of yet another loan package with the IMF while the PML-N was still in power and the exploratory talks continued under the interim government as well.

Prime Minister Imran Khan's new administration took office in August vowing to weigh up whether to seek an IMF bailout as it sought other avenues of financing.

He has sought loans from friendly countries, promised to recover funds stolen by corrupt officials, and embarked on a series of populist austerity measures. But help has been in short supply and economists' warnings have grown increasingly urgent.

The final decision, however, was announced on Monday night when Asad Umar confirmed that the government would seek talks with the IMF on a "stabilisation recovery programme".

The announcement followed the highest single-day loss in a decade in the stock market, which plunged by over 1,300 points, losing almost Rs270bn of its capitalisation.

On Tuesday, the IMF said that it would listen to Pakistan’s request for financial support "very, very attentively", as it did with any member with good standing.

Pakistan seeks largest bailout yet

Pakis­tan is seeking its largest loan package of up to $8 billion from the IMF to bail itself out from a severe crisis that threatens to cripple its economy, diplomatic sources earlier told Dawn.

The sources said that the IMF could place strict conditionalities, forcing Pakis­tan to seek additional loans for meeting those restrictions and this could expand the loan facility to $12bn.

Pakistan has received more than a dozen financial support packages from the IMF in the past. It completed the last three-year package of $6.4bn in August 2016, which was 216 per cent of Pakistan’s quota at the IMF.

The previous programme also aimed at “bringing down inflation and reducing the fiscal deficit to more sustainable levels”. It included measures to “help achieve higher and more inclusive growth, in particular through addressing bottlenecks in the energy sector”.

At a news briefing on Tuesday, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld outlined the economic challenges that Pakistan was facing now and also commented on its ability to finance itself.

Asked how would the IMF react to Pakistan’s request for an emergency bailout package, he said: "As with any member in good standing, they are certainly entitled to request financial support from the Fund. So, we will be listening very, very attentively when and if they come to us."

He noted that Pakistan has "frequently… had programmes in the past several times… and that is a very good sign going forward".

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), accompanied by parliamentarians from other opposition parties, on Thursday held a "mock National Assembly session" outside the Parliament House to protest the arrest of Leader of Opposition in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif, DawnNewsTV reported.

Members of opposition parties gathered in great numbers outside Parliament House, with some of them holding placards with anti-government slogans written on them. Former NA speaker Ayaz Sadiq chaired the mock session, in which a 'call to attention’ notice was also presented regarding the arrest of Shahbaz Sharif.

Earlier this week, the PML-N had demanded that Shahbaz Sharif, who is currently in the National Accountability Bureau’s (NAB) custody, should be brought to parliament so he can present his case before the people of the country.

Sharif has been arrested on the charge that he tried to influence the transfer of a contract for the Ashiana Housing Scheme from one contractor to another.

On Wednesday, NA Speaker Asad Qaiser issued directives to convene the session requested by opposition parties on October 17. Additionally, the NA Secretariat also issued production orders to ensure the presence of Shahbaz Sharif for that session.

The opposition parties, however, were adamant they would protest outside Parliament House, saying the NA Speaker had not accepted their demand for an NA session this week.

While addressing the mock session, PML-N Senator Mushahid Hussain said that Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz were put behind bars ahead of the general elections and now they have arrested Shahbaz Sharif ahead of the by-polls.

Leaders of the opposition parties were of the view that Shahbaz Sharif's arrest was tantamount to humiliating the parliament and that the House condemned the arrest of the opposition leader.

The opposition members further said that no hindrance should be made in the production of Shahbaz Sharif for the NA session next week.

A Lahore accountability court on Thursday issued orders for the confiscation of assets of former Punjab chief minister Shahbaz Sharif's son-in-law, Imran Ali Yousaf.

Accountability Judge Muhammad Azeem issued the orders while hearing a petition filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) which asked the court to attach Yousaf's assets.

Yousaf is accused of receiving illicit funds in excess of Rs12 million from Ikram Naveed, the former CEO of the Punjab Power Development Company (PPDC), and is the subject of a NAB probe.

He appeared before NAB investigators in April but has since skipped scheduled hearings and left the country for London. On August 7, he was declared a proclaimed offender by an Accountability Court.

"Yousaf has properties worth billions in Pakistan, he owns Ali Centre and Ali Town. He also has businesses called Ali and Fatima Developers and Ghaus Al Azeem Developers," the prosecutor said.

"He also owns 99 or 100 plots in Gulberg 3-A," the prosecutor continued, adding that Yousaf also owns one Madinah Feeds Mill.

A source had earlier told DawnNewsTV that the then CM’s son-in-law was also accused of "getting Naveed appointed as PPDC CEO, who subsequently allegedly committed massive corruption. NAB is quizzing Yousaf on the information provided about him by Ikram Naveed.”

The Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had already carried out a probe against Naveed and Yousaf in 2016. It declared Naveed guilty of embezzling Rs450 million.

The ACE in its investigation had found that Naveed had purchased 19 properties in his and his family members’ names and also unearthed his and his family members' property worth over Rs1 billion. The property has been attached and their bank accounts frozen.

Eight children died while two suffered injuries on Thursday when the wall of a house in Sukkur's suburban area collapsed, DawnNewsTV reported.

The incident occurred in the Ghulam Sarwar Shinbani village at the home of Samoon Bhanbro, who along with other adults was away tending to the crop fields nearby as the children played.

Among the children who died on the spot were seven-year-old Rukhsana, four-year-old Yaqoob, 12-year-old Faro, 12-year-old Rukhsana, nine-year-old Ghulam Akbar, six-year-old Manzooran, and four-year-old Sitaran, while 12-year-old Razia passed away during treatment.

Two children, namely two-year-old Dilshad and nine-year-old Sakhi Dino, received injuries and were taken to the nearby hospital by area residents. Emergency medical services were notified of the incident immediately but due to the area being located in the desert region, they could not reach timely.

Three families were living together in the home, whose walls had long started to disintegrate, area residents told the media.

As news of the tragedy spread, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah took notice and instructed Sukkur Deputy Commissioner Ghulam Murtaza Shaikh to submit a report regarding the incident immediately and to ensure the injured children receive the best possible treatment.

An accountability court in Islamabad on Wednesday issued non-bailable warrants against former prime minister Shaukat Aziz in a reference filed against him by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) over alleged misuse of power during his tenure as premier of the country.

Accountability court Judge Arshad Malik issued the warrants against the former premier following his constant non-appearance in the case's proceedings.

Moreover, also mentioned in the case are former Sindh chief minister Liaquat Jatoi, former federal secretary Ismail Qureshi, former Alternative Energy Development Board (AEDB) chairman retired Air Marshal Shahid Hamid, and former AEDB secretary Brig Dr Nasim Akhtar Khan, all of whose requests to be excused for the day's hearing were approved.

However, the court expressed great displeasure at the absence of others named in the reference.

Also read: Shaukat Aziz silent abroad

The next hearing of the case was postponed until November 1.

Aziz, who served as the prime minister for three-and-a-half years, currently resides in the United States.

NAB had filed a reference against the former premier and others for illegally appointing Basharat Hassan Bashir as a consultant for the AEDB in an alleged violation of rules, reportedly resulting in losses up to Rs21 million.

According to NAB, the process of complaint verification, inquiry and investigation has been completed against the former prime minister after he was found guilty.

The Supreme Court on Thursday dropped the review petitions filed against its May 4 judgement barring Bahria Town Karachi from selling any plots or constructed apartments after they were withdrawn by the petitioners.

The petitions were withdrawn after the court said it would form an implementation bench to oversee the implementation of the previous judgement.

The court separately directed the National Accountability Court (NAB) to continue proceeding with its investigation in the case, also directed in the earlier judgement, on its merits.

Headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, a five-judge larger bench had taken up petitions seeking review of the court’s May 4 judgement, which had barred the Bahria Town Karachi from selling plots or built-up apartments in the scheme it had launched in the city and directing a settlement of lands it had acquired under a swap with the Malir Development Authority (MDA). The verdict had held that the transfer of land between the MDA and Bahria Town Karachi had been illegal.

During the hearing, the CJP offered to form a bench for the implementation of the earlier judgment if the petitioners agreed to withdraw their applications. The top judge assured that the special bench will give an "efficient and timely" decision on the matter.

Justice Nisar remarked that he himself is impressed by the work done by Bahria Town and that "there is no other project like [it] in Pakistan", but made it clear that there could be no compromise over the illegalities conducted in the acquisition of land.

Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan, who was representing the residents and owners of Bahria Town Karachi real estate, suggested that the court form an implementation bench and determine how much money the developer has to pay to the Sindh government as a differential amount for the transfer of prime lands to it by the MDA.

The court subsequently closed the matter after Bahria Town, residents, property dealers and the Government of Sindh withdrew their review petitions.

The CJP said that the implementation bench will conclude the case as soon as possible and until then, the amount submitted by Bahria Town in the court as a guarantee will remain deposited.

He also made it clear that the apex court will not interfere in an inquiry initiated by NAB into the matter.

President Arif Alvi has removed Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui as a judge of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), a notification issued by the law ministry said on Thursday.

The president took the decision after the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) recommended his removal, the statement added.

A letter written by the SJC had emerged earlier in the day, in which the council, comprising five Supreme Court judges, had said it found Justice Siddiqui guilty of misconduct over a speech he delivered in July earlier this year before the Rawalpindi District Bar Association.

"The council is unanimously of the opinion that in the matter of making his speech before the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi on [July 21] Mr. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui [...] had displayed conduct unbecoming of a judge of a high court and was, thus, guilty of misconduct and he is, therefore, liable to be removed from his office under Article 209(6) of the Constitution," the communication read.

While addressing an audience at the bar, Justice Siddiqui had claimed that personnel of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) were manipulating judicial proceedings.

He had further claimed that the spy agency had approached IHC Chief Justice Muhammad Anwar Khan Kasi and said: "'We do not want to let Nawaz Sharif and his daughter come out [of the prison] until elections, do not include Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on the bench [hearing Sharifs' appeals]'."

Justice Siddiqui had offered no evidence to support the claims he made.

The IHC judge was facing a reference over his controversial speech, the third reference filed against him.

On July 31, the SJC had issued a show-cause notice to Justice Siddiqui on the reference for making unnecessary and unwarranted comments at the Rawalpindi District Bar Association by accusing the establishment of manipulating the judicial proceedings.

The SJC took up the matter after considering that such comments prima facie had the tendency of undermining the respect otherwise due to such constitutional institutions.

The council did not consider another request of Justice Siddiqui to hold the proceedings of this reference in the open court.

The judge had been alrea­dy facing a reference on misconduct earlier moved on the complaint by some retired employees of the Capital Development Authori­ty (CDA) for alleged refurbishment of his official residence beyond entitlement.

Likewise, a similar show-cause notice was issued to Justice Siddiqui under Article 209 (5)(6) of the Constitution by the SJC on a reference moved by Advocate Kulsum Khaliq on behalf of former member of the National Asse­mbly Jamsh­ed Ahmed Dasti alleging that the high court judge had, during one of the hearings on a case relating to the 20-day Faizabad sit-in, objected to a compromise between the federal government and the protesting Tehreek-i-Labbaik Ya Rasool Allah. The compromise was facilitated by the armed forces.

After scrutinising the reference, a meeting of the SJC held on Feb 6 observed that the judge was guilty of misconduct and should be issued a show-cause notice in this regard.

At least three soldiers lost their lives and five others were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in South Waziristan near the Pak-Afghan border on Thursday, officials said.

The soldiers were reportedly carrying out routine search operations in Makeen Tehsil of South Waziristan district when the explosion took place, local officials told AFP.

While there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bomb attack, the military has been battling Taliban and Al Qaeda linked militants in the region for years.

Violence across the country has declined in recent years following a series of military operations along the border with Afghanistan, but militant groups are still able to carry out deadly attacks.

There have been a number of fatal assaults in recent months in the northwest, as well as in Balochistan.

The army launched an operation in mid-2014 to wipe out militant bases in the area and end the near decade-long insurgency that has cost thousands of lives.

The operation was intensified after the Taliban massacred more than 150 people, the majority of them children, in the attack on the Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar in December 2014.

In 2016, the army said it has cleared the last militant stronghold in the country's northwest after a three-month-long operation.

ISLAMABAD: President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday removed senior puisne judge of the Islamabad High Court Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui on the recommendations of the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC).

Earlier in the day, the SJC had recommended Justice Siddiqui’s removal for his remarks about alleged interference by the country’s premier spy agency in the judicial proceedings.

Consequently, the Ministry of Law and Justice denotified the IHC judge. “A notification in this regard has been issued,” said Law Minister Dr Farogh Nasim.

The notification signed by the law secretary states: “The President of Pakistan has been pleased to remove Mr Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge Islamabad High Court, from his office with immediate effect.”

The SJC, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar, ruled: “This council is unanimously of the opinion that in the matter of making his speech before the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi, on July 21, 2018, Mr Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge Islamabad High Court, had displayed conduct unbecoming of Judge of a High Court and was, thus, guilty of misconduct and he is, therefore, liable to be removed from his office under Article 209(6) of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973.”

Justice Siddiqui says SJC took up ‘baseless reference’ against him about renovation of his official residence

The Article 209(6) says: “If after inquiring into the matter, the Council reports to the President that it is of the opinion: (a) that the Judge is incapable of performing the duties of his office or has been guilty of misconduct, and (b) that he should be removed from office; the President may remove the judge from office.”

During the 70-year judicial history of the country, Justice Siddiqui has become the second judge against whom the SJC passed negative opinion.

The first reference had been filed against Justice Hasan Ali Agha in the Federal Court of Pakistan in 1951, the second against Justice Ikhlaq Hussain during General Ayub’s regime, the third against Justice Shaikh Shaukat Ali during General Yahya’s era and the fourth against Justice Safdar Ali Shah during General Zia’s regime.

While Justice Agha was exonerated and Justice Ali was asked to resign, the SJC passed negative opinion against Justice Ikhlaq.

Justice Safdar Shah, who was part of the bench that had convicted Pakistan Peoples Party founder Zulfikar Ali Bhutto but ruled against the conviction, faced the wrath of Gen Zia’s martial law regime, tendered resignation and left Pakistan.

In 2007, the SJC had taken up a reference filed by former president retired Gen Pervez Musharraf against then chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, but a 13-member larger bench of the Supreme Court quashed the reference.

Former chief justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali had in 2015 reactivated the SJC and started proceeding against some judges of the IHC and Lahore High Court. However, the SJC decided the case instituted against Justice Siddiqui after July 21 this year.

The five-member SJC bench which recommended Justice Siddiqui’s removal comprised CJP Saqib Nisar, Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa and Justice Gulzar Ahmed of the Supreme Court, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Ahmed Ali Shaikh and LHC Chief Justice Mohammad Yawar Ali.

The SJC’s report forwarded to the president was authored by Justice Khosa. It states: “At a time when many inquiries under Article 209 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973 were pending against him at different stages before the Supreme Judicial Council, Mr Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui, Judge, Islamabad High Court, addressed a meeting of the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi on July 21, 2018. That meeting was attended by a large number of advocates including some office-bearers of the Punjab Bar Council, the High Court Bar Association and the District Bar Association, Rawalpindi.”

The report also highlighted the contents of that speech. According to it, Justice Siddiqui claimed that the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is “manipulating judicial proceedings as its officials manage to constitute benches at its will and mark cases to selected judges”. He said: “The ISI approached the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court and told him that they don’t want release of Nawaz Sharif and his daughter before elections.”

The SJC after a brief hearing on Oct 1 had reserved the order that was announced on Thursday.

Justice Siddiqui’s response

Reacting to the SJC decision, Justice Siddiqui said the council’s opinion was not unexpected for him. He said the SJC had taken up a “baseless reference” against him related to renovation of his official residence, and since there was nothing in that reference, he had been eliminated for delivering a speech at the bar association.

“Contrary to my demand and the decision of the Supreme Court for conducting the trial in open court, the SJC proceeded against me in-camera. Besides, no effort was made to constitute a commission to ascertain veracity of the allegations I made in that speech,” he said, adding that he would present his stance before people and explain what he had already submitted to the SJC in connection with the reference. “I will also explain the real reasons for which SJC has deposed a high court judge in about five decades,” Justice Siddiqui concluded.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, who is on the last legs of his tenure, said on Thursday that he did not want to carry the stigma of doing injustice to anyone.

No impression should come forth as if judges wanted to settle some scores and victimise or target someone and that they were biased, the CJP observed while heading a three-judge Supreme Court bench.

The bench had taken up a petition of Advocate Feroz Shah Gilani, president of the Lawyers Foundation for Justice, seeking recovery of huge amounts of public money wasted against the backdrop of the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) in 2007 allegedly by former presidents retired Gen Pervez Musharraf and Asif Ali Zardari and former attorney general Malik Mohammad Qayyum.

After the furnishing of affidavits by Mr Musharraf and Mr Zardari about the details of assets and properties owned by them both inside and outside the country, the court seemed not inclined to proceed further. But since the affidavit of Mr Qayyum had not come, the court postponed further proceedings for the first week of November when it will also determine the maintainability and merit of the petition.

Sometimes courts deliver decisions in view of out-of-the-box situations, Justice Nisar observes in NRO case

The chief justice asked senior counsel Farooq H. Naek, who appeared on behalf of Mr Zardari, to convey and explain to his party leaders that judges never took sides and did not have bias against anyone.

At this, Mr Naek explained that Mr Zardari, Bilalwal Bhutto-Zardari and he himself had asked leaders of the Pakistan Peoples Party not to issue any statement to undermine the institution of the judiciary.

“Make this institution strong so that it may become messiah for people one day,” the CJP observed.

Sometimes the court delivered decisions in view of out-of-the-box situations, he observed. But still the court was bound to decide while remaining within the four corners of the law under Article 4 and by providing opportunity of fair trial to everyone under Article 10-A of the Constitution, he added.

Earlier, Advocate Akhtar Shah on behalf of Mr Musharraf furnished a sealed envelope containing medical report of his client. He pleaded before the court not to make it public or read loudly.

But the court observed that the treatment of the disease with which Mr Musharraf was suffering was available in Pakistan where doctors were more experienced than in Dubai.

The counsel, however, argued that Mr Musharraf was ready to return to the country but wanted assurance that he might be allowed to go abroad whenever he wanted treatment of his disease outside the country and that his name should not be placed on the Exit Control List.

The CJP, however, observed that the apex court could not undo declaration of proclaimed offender by the special court hearing a treason case against Mr Musharraf, but could issue a directive that he should not be arrested on arrival, adding that life was most important component.

The court would consider whenever any application on behalf of Mr Musharraf came seeking permission to go abroad for treatment of his disease, he observed.

CJP Nisar asked the counsel to convey to Mr Musharraf that he should come to record his statement under Section 342 CrPC before the special court by Monday.

The counsel, however, contended that his client was facing many cases, including the Lal Masjid case, without any charge sheet.

The CJP observed that the court could issue orders that all courts seized with cases against Mr Musharraf should decide matters without being prejudice and would even allow grant of protective bail to the former president, besides ordering his treatment in Pakistan according to the standard he desired. Otherwise, he said, the law would take its own course.

The counsel, however, explained that Mr Musharraf simply acted rather misguided on the advice of the then prime minister and the cabinet before signing the NRO, but only he was being tried while others had been spared.

The court asked the petitioner to explain what he wanted with his petition and reminded him that the NRO had already been declared illegally by the Supreme Court.

When the petitioner requested the court to order the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to probe the matter and determine the losses Pakistan had suffered against the backdrop of the NRO, the CJP observed that the court could not ask NAB to start harassing people.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Outflows under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will begin in 2021 and peak over the next three years without creating a debt trap, an official of the Planning Commission with knowledge of the financing arrangements told Dawn on condition of anonymity.

Separately, the Planning Commission released a lengthy statement trying to address the concerns of the global community about Pakistan’s mounting Chinese debts and whether or not CPEC could turn out to be a “debt trap” for Pakistan.

Most recently, the IMF Managing Director told reporters at a press conference in Bali on Thursday that the fund will demand “absolute transparency” about all debt, without explicitly naming Chinese debt, whether under CPEC or not. A day earlier, the IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld told reporters that Pakistan should avoid “excessive debts which cannot be repaid” when availing Chinese borrowing for infrastructure development.

By contrast, the planning commission official on Thursday said CPEC was rather being expanded and its pace expedited.

He said the debt repayments will start in 2021 with about $300-400 million annually and gradually peak to about $3.5 billion by fiscal year 2024-25 before tapering off with total repayments to be completed in 25 years.

The planning commissioned statement tried to strike a more earnest tone. “CPEC is not imposing any immediate burden with respect to loans repayment and energy sector outflows” it said, arguing all debt related outflows will be outweighed by the resultant benefits of the investments to the Pakistan economy. The statement, however, did not give any figures on the size of the outflows or their timeline.

“The present government, with mutual consultation of Government of China is broadening the base and expediting pace of CPEC, within the broad parameters of the already approved CPEC framework”. A mechanism is being developed to include third party participation in CPEC, it added.

The commission reiterated that CPEC was a “flagship” project and most active project of Belt and Road Initiative where 22 projects worth a total of $28 billion have been actualized over the past four years. “The project could not be compared with Chinese overseas investment in Sri Lanka or Malaysia as frameworks and financial modes of CPEC are altogether different in nature” the statement continued.

CPEC finances are divided in government to government loans, investment and grants. Infrastructure sector is being developed through interest free or government concessional loans. Gwadar Port is grant-based investment which means the Government of Pakistan does not have to pay back the invested amount for the development of the port.

Energy projects are being executed under Independent Power Producers (IPPs) mode and finances are mainly taken by the private companies from China Development Bank and China Exim Bank against their own balance sheets, therefore, any debt would be borne by the Chinese investors instead of any obligation on part of the Pakistani government.

Pakistan has opted for Chinese investment under CPEC due to the favorable financing arrangements, it continued. “China stepped forward to support Pakistan’s development at a time when foreign investment had dried up, and economic activities were being crippled by energy shortages and infrastructure gaps.”

The statement described CPEC as “an engine for economic growth and is expected to increase Pakistan’s GDP growth by 2 to 3pc. CPEC has also facilitated in overcoming crucial energy, transport infrastructure and supply chain bottlenecks.”

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Thursday decided to form a parliamentary commission to conduct an inquiry into the surge of the country’s foreign debts from Rs6,000 billion to Rs30 trillion during the last 10 years.

A meeting of the cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan, agreed that responsibility should be fixed on those people who were responsible for the fast-increasing foreign debts.

“If we are getting more loans to retire previous loans obtained by our predecessors, we should know why the amount of loans went so high in the last 10 years and for which purposes it was used,” the prime minister said.

Similarly, the cabinet decided to initiate an inquiry into mega development projects like the New Islamabad Airport, which had been completed at a cost of over Rs100bn against its initial cost of Rs38bn, Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry told a press conference after the cabinet meeting.

Cabinet approves appointment of heads of PIA, Privatisation Commission and Baitul Maal

“We know who benefited in this contract.”

“The prime minister and the cabinet have decided that a thorough audit of the project should be conducted, including a performance audit,” the minister said. Referring to the collapse of a boarding bridge at the newly-built airport the other day, he said the incident had raised questions on the quality of the construction work.

Indirectly blaming the previous Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government, Fawad Chaudhry said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) government knew which construction company had been assigned the contract. “Ishaq Dar Sahib, Munir Sahib, everywhere you look, you will find one of their people.”

Appointments

The cabinet also accorded approval to the appointment of heads of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Privatisation Commission and Baitul Maal.

The information minister said the cabinet approved appointment of serving Air Marshal Arshad Khan as PIA chairman. “Mr Arshad is a seasoned officer of the air force and it is expected that he will manage to overcome increasing losses in the organisation,” he said.

The government had also initiated a process to appoint permanent chief executive officer of the national flag career, which would take some time, the minister said.

“The finance minister has also prepared a plan for the restructuring of the PIA which will be unveiled by him after his return from a foreign visit,” Mr Chaudhry said, adding no employee of the PIA would be laid off.

As per other decisions of the cabinet, Muhammedmian Soomro has been appointed chairman of the Privatisation Commission and PTI leader Aun Abbas head of the Baitul Maal.

Exit Control List

The cabinet also decided to revisit Exit Control List (ECL) which carries names of 3,000 people, including those who are said to be innocent and politically victimised.

The information minister said several people among the 3,000 had filed applications for removal of their names on the ground that they had been placed on the list due to political victimisation or personal differences.

Responding to a question, Mr Chaudhry claimed that neither former prime minister Nawaz Sharif nor any of his family member had filed any appeal for removal of their names from the ECL.

Housing scheme

The National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) has claimed that the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme had received a significant response not only from the country, but also other parts of the world. As many as 150,000 application forms had been downloaded on Thursday, Nadra said in a press release. The applicants will have to pay Rs250 registration fee at the time of submission of the forms to the prescribed Nadra offices and the authority will start receiving forms from Oct 22 simultaneously from all districts of the country.

Under mortgage financing model, the information minister said, state land would be used as the collateral on which houses would be constructed. This way, the banks will also have a safety net (to recover credit if need be).

He claimed the government was not investing any money in the housing programme.

Tax reforms

Mr Chaudhry said it had been found that 89 per cent of taxes levied on cigarettes, amounting to around Rs77 billion, were paid by two companies only. “The remaining companies are illegally selling cigarettes,” he said and promised a crackdown on those companies soon.

Similarly, the tax collected from paint companies shows that only two or three companies are paying tax and the rest are not.

Mr Chaudhry noted the country received remittances of $40bn every year, but only $10bn came in through legal channels. “The prime minister has summoned representatives of the State Bank tomorrow for a discussion on how we can go about increasing our remittances. If there is an increase of $10bn even, it will go a long way to addressing our deficit issues,” he said.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

KARACHI: An antiterrorism court reserved on Thursday its order till Oct 15 on the prosecution’s application pleading to record additional evidence of three witnesses in the case pertaining to an attempt on the life of American educationist Debra Lobo.

A convicted accused Saad Aziz, alias Tin Tin, along with his four accomplices has been charged with shooting at and wounding Ms Lobo, the vice principal of the Karachi’s Jinnah Medical and Dental College, on Shaheed-i-Millat Road in April 2015.

On Thursday, the ATC-XI judge, who is conducting trial in the judicial complex inside the central prison, took up the prosecution’s plea filed under Section 540 (power to summon material witness or examine persons present) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

In the application, the prosecution informed that empties of the bullets secured from the scene, where Ms Lobo was shot at, were sent to the forensic science laboratory for ballistic analysis. It informed that the empties had matched with a 0.9mm calibre pistol, which had also been used in the Safoora Goth carnage. It asked the court to summon the IO, the ballistic expert and the recovery official.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

QUETTA: The Balo­chis­tan government has decided to amend the Anti-corrup­tion and Inquiry Estab­lish­ment Bill to make the institution more effective throu­­gh legislation for initiating probe against officials and other people involved in corruption in the province.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the Anti-Cor­ruption Department, Balo­chistan, here on Thursday. Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan Alyani presided over the meeting which was also attended by Director Gen­eral of the Anti-Corruption Depart­ment Zeeshan Lehri and other senior officials.

Mr Lehri briefed the meeting on the performance of his department and progress on different corruption cases under investigation in the department.

In the view of Prime Min­ister Imran Khan’s directives which he had given to the chief minister to make anti-corruption institution more effective, it was decided that after reviewing the existing laws a draft would be presented before the cabinet to amend them.

A bill will be moved in the Balochistan Assembly after approval of the amended draft for legislation.

The chief minister told the meeting that a committee should be formed which would recommend registration of FIRs after reviewing evidence of corruption against any person.

“There is dire need of reforms in the anti-corruption institutions for making them more effective,” Mr Alyani said.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

LAHORE: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Thursday arrested Punjab University ex-vice chancellor Dr Mujahid Kamran and four other former administrative officials over allegations of corruption, illegal appointments and nepotism.

Among the four [arrested] administrative officials are two former registrars Prof Dr Raas Masood and Prof Dr Liaqat Ali and two additional registrars Prof Dr Aurangzaib Alamgir and Prof Dr Kamran Abid.

“Dr Mujahid and four other officials appeared before the NAB team at its Thokar Niaz Beg office and were arrested upon their unsatisfactory replies to allegations against them,” an official source told Dawn.

He said the former VC was questioned about different allegations, especially illegal appointments in the varsity for four hours.

Suspects accused of making illegal appointments, violating procurement rules

The main charge they are facing is 550 illegal appointments, mostly grade 17 and above between 2013 and 2016.

Sources also claimed that most of the jobs were given on a contract basis and no selection rules were followed and the contracts were renewed.

Dr Mujahid was also accused of illegally appointing his second wife Dr Shazia Qureshi as principal of the Punjab University Law College (PULC). “The suspect had also awarded scholarships to favourite students and was involved in award of contract in violation of procurement rules,” the source said.

The NAB will produce them before an accountability court for their physical remand for further investigation on Friday (today).

Dr Mujahid is currently working as rector of the University of Lahore and remained the PU vice chancellor from January 2008 to December 2016. He also served as chairman of the Physics Department at PU from 1995 to 2001, as the dean of Faculty of Sciences from 2001 to 2007. He had joined the university as a lecturer in 1972.

A varsity official on condition of anonymity said the contracts of those appointed illegally during Dr Mujahid’s tenure should be reviewed.

However, a university spokesman said around 200 employees’ contracts who were appointed during Dr Mujahid tenure ended in June last and were not extended further.

He said around 30 of them were teachers who got regular appointments in the university and the remaining employees managed to get stay order from the court for further contract but the posts would be advertised soon.

Meanwhile, the Punjab University Academic Staff Association (PUASA) held an emergency meeting and condemned the arrest of the former VC and other professors.

PUASA General Secretary Dr Asghar Iqbal said the NAB officials had disrespectfully arrested the professors and it would not be acceptable to the teaching community to humiliate them.

He said they would launch a protest drive against the ‘unlawful’ arrest of the professors.

The NAB had also arrested six officials of the University of Sargodha (UoS), including its former VC Muhammad Akram, registrar Rao Jameel, chief executive of Mandi Bahauddin campus Waris and his partner Naeem in illegal campuses case.

The suspects were involved in minting millions from students by establishing campuses.

However, neither the examinations were conducted nor they were issued degrees. The affected students had time and again staged protests against the university administration.

Following the protests, Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar had taken notice of the issue and referred the case to the NAB Lahore director general.

A source claimed that the suspects were involved in corruption and a committee was formed to evolve an alternative for the students so that their future could be saved.

He said investigations revealed that the suspects were involved in looting millions for the establishment of illegal campuses.

They were being investigated after an accountability court on Wednesday handed them over to the bureau on a 10-day physical remand.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

LAHORE: The Asma Jahangir Legal Aid Cell in collaboration with the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) is holding its first ‘Justice for Empowerment Conference’ dedicated to the late human rights icon.

The conference is scheduled to be held on Oct 13 and 14 at Avari Hotel and it aims to highlight the legacy of Asma Jahangir through panel discussions on fundamental rights, independence of the judiciary, empowerment of the marginalized communities, freedom of expression and regional solidarity.

International legal experts, members of judiciary, senior lawyers, policymakers, media persons and representatives of political parties will attend the event. The guests include Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar; the current and former presidents of the SCBA and Lahore High Court Bar Association; Australian jurist, academic and former High Court judge Michael Kirby; Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry, PPP chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Minister for Human Rights Shireen Mazari, former National Assembly speaker Ayaz Sadiq, former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Swedish Ambassador-at-large for Human Rights, Democracy and Rule of Law, Annika Ben David.

Steven Butler from the Committee to Protect Journalists and Kristy Brimelow QC, Chair of the Bar Human Rights Committee (England), will also be present.

Asma Jahangir, the first woman president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, contributed immensely to not just legislation but also the human rights situation in Pakistan. She co-founded the AGHS legal aid cell in 1987 through which she fought several court cases some of which ended in landmark decisions.

The legal aid cell that she founded has influenced 17 pieces of legislation advancing the rights of women, children and religious minorities including amendments easing the dissolution of abusive marriages, introducing new laws against honour killing, the Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act 1992, Sexual Harassment of Women in the Workplace Act 2010, Anti Rape Bill 2016, the Child Marriage Restraint Act, the Elections Act 2017, and the Acid Control and Crime Prevention Act 2011.

She also championed many a cause and spoke about misuse of certain laws besides fighting for supremacy of democracy and freedom of expression.

The formal inauguration of the first day will be at 9:30am and sessions will continue till 5:30 pm.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

ATTOCK: A woman was shot and killed during her wedding on Wednesday, allegedly by a man she had refused to marry.

The victim, identified as Uzma Bibi, was engaged to her cousin Bilal Ahmed, her mother Shehnaz Bibi said.

Uzma and her family were at her in-laws’ house in Golra for the mehndi ceremony when she was shot by a man with a 9mm pistol, who said he was taking revenge for her refusal to marry him.

Uzma was shot in the right shoulder from behind, and the shooter told bystanders that he would also shoot them if they tried to attend to her. The suspect then escaped with the pistol, and the victim bled to death.

Attock Saddar police have registered a case against the suspect under section 302 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

SAHIWAL: The District Environment Department on Thursday sealed two main boilers of a feed company for creating air pollution on Arifwala-Sahiwal Road.

The Dera Rahim police registered a case against Jawad Mansoor, Admin Manager, Supreme Feed, for violating Sections 11 and 12, the Punjab Environment Protection Act 2012 (amended) and Section 144.

There were complaints against owners of the Supreme Feed for polluting environment by using substandard material for burning and operation of boilers unlike the standard practice of using rice husk and residue of sugarcane.

Environment dept registers case against admin manager

Ali Ijaz, assistant director of the department, told Dawn that they had issued warning to the owners of the company due to public complaints. The company owners, he said, did not even allow the inspection team to enter the premises.

He said the Supreme Court of Pakistan had issued a direction against air pollution because of threat of smog and a team of environment department, environment magistrate, Senior Civil Judge Saima Riasat and officials of the Ghalla Mandi and Dera Rahim police raided the place and sealed two main boilers.

He said the department was monitoring air pollution and the boilers could be reopened with the permission of secretary environment only if new technological standards are applied.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018

MITHI: Rights activists, mem­bers of civil society and general public of Thar and other areas took to social media on Thursday to vent anger and frustration over remarks attributed to Sindh advocate general before the Supreme Court, which exposed his sheer ignorance of norms and customs of the desert dwellers.

Social networking sites quoted the advocate general as saying in a hearing of suo motu case about Thar children’s deaths on Thursday that since Hindus who were in a majority in Thar did not eat wheat, the government was giving them rice and lentils as relief items during ongoing relief operation.

He said this in response to a question about distribution of rotten wheat to starving Tharis.

Kirshan Sharma, rights activist, said that for a responsible govern­ment functionary to make such a “foolish” statement before chief justice of Pakistan at a time when Tharis were starving to death was simply callous.

“What can Tharis expect from such rulers, who do not even care to know about their norms and customs,” he added.

Advocate Leelaram lambasted the government functionaries res­pon­sible for the sorry state of affairs in Thar and warned them to stop making a mockery of the plight of 1.6 million people living in the desert region.

He said that instead of preparing sustainable plans and policies to mitigate peoples’ sufferings and resolve them on a permanent basis, incompetent rulers were portraying a bleak picture of Thar.

Thar Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Asif Jameel said that he was not aware of the AG’s remarks and said the government was only distributing wheat bags among the starving population. He said that they had begun supplying wheat to the remaining 67,905 families registered with Nadra. “The process of wheat distribution is going on smoothly,” he added.

Six more infants die during last 24 hours

Six more infants died of complications from malnutrition and related health issues at Mithi Civil Hospital on Wednesday and Thursday, raising the death toll of children to 496 this year so far, the highest in a year over the past five years of recurring droughts.

Parents of the dead and ailing children complained to journalists of shortage of life-saving drugs at the hospital and indifferent attitude of doctors and paramedics to patients.

They deplored that despite emer­gency situation free ambulance service was not available to them to shift bodies of their loved ones to their villages and the serious patients to teaching hospitals in Hyderabad and Karachi.

Health and nutrition experts working in Thar including Dr Shaikh Tan­weer Ahmed and others reite­rated the demand that the govern­ment should introduce sustain­able policies in drought-hit Thar to prevent further deaths.

Meanwhile, Thar DC Mohammad Asif Jameel said in a press state­ment that the protesting operators of reverse osmosis plants had called off the protest and resumed duties after the Sindh government assured the private company of payment of dues.

“Purified water from the hundreds of RO plants is provided to residents of Mithi, Islamkot and several villages where the costly plants had been installed,” said the official.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2018