LAHORE: A senior lawyer has approached the Lahore High Court challenging the arrest of opposition leader in National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in Ashiana-i-Iqbal Housing Scheme case.

Advocate A.K Dogar argues in his petition that arrest of a person during investigation and trial is inconsistent with article 10(1) of the Constitution. He states that no person can remain in custody unless he is informed about the ground of his arrest and such ground can only be established after investigation is completed. Furthermore, he pleads no investigation is constitutionally valid unless the accused has been granted the fundamental right.

The lawyer argues that the article 10 of the Constitution gives the right to be defended by a counsel at the time of investigation, which Mr Sharif was not granted by the NAB.

He asks the court to declare that section 24 of the NAB ordinance that allows chairman of the bureau to arrest an accused during investigation/inquiry is inconsistent with fundamental rights enshrined in article 10 of the Constitution. He further asks the court to set aside the order for the arrest of the opposition leader issued by the NAB chairman and release him on bail.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the advocate general of Sindh to provide by Oct 26 complete information about major development projects undertaken during the past 10 years after the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) head alleged the provincial government was not cooperating with the probe body in the fake accounts case.

Appearing before a three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar in the fake accounts case, FIA’s additional director general and JIT head Ahsan Sadiq said information being provided by the Sindh government was piecemeal and not complete.

However, AG Salman Talibuddin dismissed the allegation of non-cooperation, saying it would be unkind to suggest that when the Sindh government had been collecting and providing relevant information to the JIT.

In response to a query, the JIT head told the court that the probe team had solicited information from the Sindh administration through written requests. He contended that around Rs54 billion was transferred from 36 different “Benami” companies. Of this amount, he added, Rs47 billion transactions through thousands of fake accounts had been identified. He said the JIT unearthed transactions through the fake accounts opened in the name of rickshaw drivers and vendors.

Summons top bureaucrats as JIT complains of ‘non-cooperation’ in fake accounts probe

Mr Sadiq alleged that around 600 companies and individuals were associated with the scandal. He claimed that the JIT was trying hard to reach the true beneficiary behind these fake accounts but the matter was far more complex than the fake accounts.

When Justice Ijaz-ul-Ahsan inquired about the fate of the accounts, the JIT head said the accounts were usually closed after the transactions. He said many provincial government officers left the country after the transactions.

While dismissing the allegation of non-cooperation, AG Talibuddin said the Sindh government was being asked by the JIT to provide complete details of each and every scheme launched by the provincial government since 2008. He said the provincial government had also been asked to provide details of 46 companies in which six individuals were awarded contracts for development works. It was very difficult to provide complete information about work done in the past decade, yet the provincial government had provided some relevant information, he contended.

The apex court, however, asked the AG to provide details of big development schemes with a direction to complete all the relevant record as the matter would be taken up again at the Karachi registry of the apex court on Oct 26.

Top bureaucrats summoned

The court also summoned the secretaries of all the relevant departments of the provincial government like chief secretary, finance, energy and the secretary of the irrigation department.

During the proceedings, the chief justice observed that he would expect that all the secretaries of the provincial governments would be available in the courtroom in Karachi with all the relevant documents needed. The CJP said the JIT had already shared a list of the required record with the court.

The court also rejected a plea for shifting of Anvar Majeed, chairman of the Omni group of companies, to a hospital and observed that only for a cardiac procedure he could be taken to the Rawalpindi Institute of Cardiology (RIC).

Advocate Shahid Hamid representing the group asked the court to allow B class facility to his clients in jail.

He also asked the SC to order opening of the accounts of the group which had been frozen for past several months. He insisted that those accounts were not fake.

The court observed that it was not its intention to destroy businesses. However, it would allow unfreezing of the accounts only after "development of some mechanism".

Meanwhile, the SC issued a notice to the Omni group on an application moved by the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the constitution of a committee to operate eight sugar mills, owned by the group, in Sindh to prevent default on payment to sugar cane farmers or banks.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: In a rare occurrence, two former prime ministers met each other in an accountability court here on Monday while appearing in different references filed against them by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

Both former premiers — Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani and Nawaz Sharif — were sacked by the Supreme Court in 2012 and 2017, respectively.

Mr Gilani, who belongs to the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was removed by the apex court in a contempt of court case as he was reluctant to write a letter to Swiss authorities for reopening of graft cases against then president Asif Ali Zardari.

Mr Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz was removed from office for not declaring his un-withdrawn salary from his son’s foreign company in the nomination papers he submitted to the Election Commission of Pakistan.

Two former PMs facing accountability cases come across in court

During their brief interaction, both leaders shook hands and inquired about each other’s health. On a query of Mr Sharif, Mr Gilani told him that he was also facing a NAB reference in this court.

Mr Gilani termed it ironical that four elected prime ministers appeared in the accountability court. Without naming incumbent Prime Minister Imran Khan, he predicted that the fifth would be facing these courts in future.

Reacting to a warning recently issued by PM Khan, Mr Gilani said the chief executive of the country should have not threatened the arrest of politicians. He said NAB must be an independent institution.

In the courtroom when accountability court judge Arshad Malik resumed the proceedings against Mr Gilani, the prosecutor was not in attendance. Mr Gilani offered the judge to take up Mr Sharif’s reference first.

The judge remarked that it would take the entire day to proceed in the Flagship Investment reference against Mr Sharif. He, however, adjourned the proceedings in the reference against Mr Gilani till Nov 23.

Proceedings against Sharif

The star prosecution witness, Wajid Zia, on Monday shared details of the salary Mr Sharif received from the company of his son, Capital FZE.

Mr Zia testified that two members of the SC-constituted Joint Investigation Team (JIT) had obtained the documents related to salary details, employment contract with Capital FZE, a firm owned by Mr Sharif’s son and a certificate of the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) official.

Mr Zia conceded that the JIT members did not prepare a recovery memo and a possession memo of the documents when these were being handed over to them by Jafza.

The court adjourned the proceedings to Tuesday (today).

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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QUETTA: Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq has opposed the reversal of 18th Amendment, saying such a move will not be in the interest of federation because the federating units have achieved their rights and powers after a long struggle.

The JI would oppose such a move at all levels because it believed in the protection of constitutional rights of the provinces, Senator Haq said at a press conference on Monday. He was flanked by JI deputy secretary general Azhar Iqbal Ahsan, provincial chief Maulana Abdul Haq Hashmi and general secretary Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman.

The nation had welcomed the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), but the federal government made it controversial by hiding details of the mega project, Sirajul Haq said.

He demanded unveiling of details of the project and share of each province in it. He called for removing apprehensions and reservations of the people of Balochistan by revealing its share in the CPEC and the rights of the people.

Local fishermen and population of Gwadar feared expulsion from their homes and businesses following the launch of the CPEC, he said.

In reply to a question, he said the locals had the first right over natural resources of the province, job distribution and relief of sorts, hence the federal government should give priority to them.

The JI chief said Prime Minister Imran Khan and his government had no vision to pull the country out of the present crisis. He added that the government would not be able to hold the realm of the country for long because they assumed the power without doing any homework.

Majority of ministers and members of the PTI were in the government of military dictator Gen Pervez Musharraf, he said, adding that the nation would reel under more inflation once the government took loan from the International Monetary Fund.

Senator Haq said that some 35,000 posts were lying vacant in provincial departments, but the youth were not being recruited on these positions. Besides, he added, uncertainty was prevalent everywhere despite the allocation of Rs30 billion for law and order.

He called upon the prime minister to expose corrupt politicians, judges, generals and others involved in the loot and plundering of national wealth and send them to jail.

The JI emir said that there was an impression that NAB had become part of the political system and failed to carry out its responsibilities as presently there were around 150 mega corruption cases, but the bureau was not taking action against those involved in these cases.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: While the prime minister proceeds to Saudi Arabia to attend an investment conference, the new government faces its first major protest in the form of a sit-in at the entrance of Red Zone since the Radio Pakistan strikes.

Jinnah Avenue remained closed for several hours on Monday as employees of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) marched towards the Red Zone and eventually blocked D-Chowk.

The Islamabad police had to bring in reinforcement after placing barbed wire and road blocks to contain the protesters from forcing their way towards parliament and other important installations inside the Red Zone.

Leaders of various USC unions were part of the protest which was led by Syed Arif Hussain Shah, the chairman of the All Pakistan Utility Stores Corporation Union.

“We were expecting the PTI government to provide us relief against the autocratic policies of the previous government, but the new government has decided to close USC,” Mr Shah said, adding that the protest was for saving thousands of jobs across the country if the stores close.

As announced several days ago, USC outlets were closed throughout the country on Monday and employees of the utility stores gathered at the USC headquarters in Blue Area and commenced their march towards Red Zone. Jinnah Avenue was closed to traffic.

The protesters were stopped by the police from proceeding past D-Chowk.

The employees protested against the likely closure of the stores and demanded permanent employment for contractual and daily wage employees.

Arif Hussain Shah told Dawn the government was deliberately shutting down USC under the guise of reforms.

“We had a meeting with political assistant to the prime minister, Naeemul Haq, who tried to convince us to delay the protest,” Mr Shah said. USC is a state-owned enterprise which operates chain stores all over the country and which provides basic commodities to the general public at prices lower than the open market.

In their speeches during the protest, USC employees’ union leaders said the government has to settle Rs27.6 billion worth of its subsidy claims pending for seven years, which is creating a financial crunch for the corporation.

Soon after assuming charge, the prime minister’s adviser on industries and production, Abdul Razzaq Daud, stopped all purchases in USC to conduct inventory audit which led to shortage of stock.

Though the ban on new purchases has since been lifted, the issue of regularising the services of employees is yet to be settled.

While the sit-in continues, security officials have been deployed at and around D-Chowk.

The protest has also caught the attention of political rivals of the government. Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal leader Maulana Fazlur Rehman called the union leaders and assured them of his support.

Senator Sitara Ayaz, member Senate Standing Committee on Industries, slammed the government for failing to manage the situation and not understanding the genuine concerns of the USC employees. She said the matter will be taken up in parliament if not resolved by the government.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: The woman, who abused police at the entry point of highly-guarded Diplomatic Enclave, was admitted to the Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology (AFIC) on Monday.

Polyclinic spokesperson Dr Sharif Astori told Dawn on Monday that medical reports had declared the woman healthy, therefore, they decided to discharge her.

However she insisted on being referred to AFIC after which the police shifted her to the hospital.

On Monday, the woman’s counsel informed the court that her client was not feeling well and she was shifted to AFIC.

The court directed that she be produced on Tuesday.

A bail application was filed in the court of Civil Judge Saqib Jawad. But, it was decided that the hearing be held on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Interior Shehryar Afridi took notice of the incident and ordered the police to take strict action against the woman.

Though the woman was arrested on Sunday and a magistrate sent her on 14 days judicial remand to jail but she was admitted to Polyclinic because of heart issues.

The woman came to Gate-1 of the Diplomatic Enclave in a black Honda car on Saturday, which did not have a number plate. When the police officials saw the car without the number plate they intercepted the vehicle.

On inquiry, she introduced herself and said she was heading towards the US embassy. However, she was denied entry as according to the standard operating procedure, vehicles without registration number plates were not allowed to enter the enclave.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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KARACHI: Nurses from various hospitals in the city and elsewhere in Sindh on Monday stopped working in medical facilities across the province, paralysing work in many health facilities and causing delays in surgeries.

Hundreds of nurses, meanwhile, staged a sit-in outside the Karachi Press Club to press for the acceptance of their demands, which they said had long been ignored by the government.

Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho, meanwhile, said the government would accept some of the “legitimate” demands of the protesting nurses.

The protest was organised by the Joint Nurses Action Committee (JNAC), which said they had stopped working in hospitals of Sindh except for emergencies and ICUs and their protest would continue till their long-standing demands were met.

Minister says some of the protesters’ demands will be accepted

The JNAC is a conglomerate of the Young Nurses Association, Pakistan Nurses Association and Private School Nursing Association.

The minister said at a press conference that certain demands of the nurses would be accepted. “We cannot accept all their demands, but some of them, which are genuine and justifiable,” she said. The boycott gravely affected the public hospitals in Karachi and other parts of Sindh.

Certain operations were delayed in many hospitals. However, officials at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC) said they had managed to conduct all scheduled surgeries for the day, yet it would be hard to cope with the situation in the future.

“It will be difficult to provide better healthcare to patients without nursing staff if this boycott persists,” said Dr Seemin Jamali, executive director of the JPMC.

Other hospitals reported a similar situation where nurses were present in emergencies and ICUs but had stayed away from the rest of the facilities.

The protesters kept chanting slogans against the relevant authorities and held banners and placards inscribed with their demands.

The JNAC said around 1,000 nurses from the rest of Sindh joined the protest in Karachi while many others had chosen to stay away from their jobs.

Representatives of the protesters met the deputy commissioner of Karachi South and an additional secretary of health ministry. However, as they claimed, initial negotiations did not succeed.

Firdous Naqvi visits camp

Firdous Naqvi, Leader of the Opposition in the Sindh Assembly, also visited the protesting nurses’ camp. He criticised the Sindh government for ignoring their demands, which he called legitimate, adding that his party [the PTI] would raise its voice in the assembly on the issue.

The JNAC representatives spelled out their 10 demands, which they asked the government to accept and implement immediately.

Their demands are: Approval of a five-tier formula for nurses; release of health professional allowance; implementation of the decision of the Pakistan Nurses Council and the Sindh ombudsman regarding holding a special examination to save the future of 400 nursing students; raise in the stipend of nursing students up to Rs20,000 per month, equal to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; permission of DDO powers to nursing schools; establishment of a nursing university; appointment of 14,000 new nurses by creating new posts; appointment of additional secretary technical in the health department from the nursing cadre; following the announcement of the Sindh Public Service Commission regarding positions of controller and deputy controller; and cancellation of selection during election of the Pakistan Nursing Council from Sindh.

They said they had presented the demands to the health ministry but they had been constantly ignored.

They said unlike Sindh, the provincial governments in the other three provinces were upgrading nursing profession and offering them incentives.

“But the Sindh health ministry has not taken any practical step to address our issues so far,” said a protester.

Nurses said there was no mechanism to promote nurses in Sindh as most of them appointed in grade-16 retired in the same grade.

They said after a protest in 2017, the Sindh health ministry had formed a committee, but its recommendations too were not entertained.

“We had written about our problems to the Sindh CM and we had received a positive response from him. But the health ministry did not follow the CM’s clear instructions in which he had asked them to solve our issues,” said a JNAC leader.

The sit-in was continuing till late Monday evening. The protesters said it would continue till their demands were met.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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KARACHI: Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said that Sindh is the land of opportunities and the provincial government has created one-window facility for inves­tors at Public Private Partnership Unit.

This he said while addressing the inaugural session of the German investors conference titled ‘Made in Pakistan with German engineering’ organised by German-Pakistan Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GPCCI) at a local hotel on Monday.

He said that Sindh has vast investment opportunities in different sectors such as energy, including renewable and fossil fuel, infrastructure, agriculture, corporate farming, textile, city design, heavy engineering, public transport, pharmaceutical and in various other sectors.

He said that Sindh has a vast wind corridor at Jhimpir and Gharo near Karachi. It has a potential of producing 50,000MW wind energy.

Mr Shah said that the provincial government was working on solar energy for which the entire province is available where solar panels could be installed for power generation. Smart, mini, micro grids in rural areas could be established under PPP mode. “We [are] establishing a 50MW solar power project with model grid connectivity at Manj­hand, [district] Sehwan,” he said and added that in such projects there were vast investment opportunities.

Talking about coal energy, the chief minister said that Sindh has vast coal reserves and in their exploitation the German experts have played their role.

Mr Shah appreciated the GPCCI for organising the conference in the metropolis. “Karachi is a hub of trade and industry with facilities of seaport, airport, rail network and goods transport facilities and availability of skilled and unskilled labour,” he said and added that these features were enough to ensure good returns.

Others who spoke on the occasion included Sindh Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, German Consul General Eugene Wollfarth and others.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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THATTA: A fact-finding commi­ttee has submitted its report and recommendations regarding pay­ment of several billion rupees to what appeared to be ‘ghost’ emplo­yees in the police department.

It suggested that the matter be refer­red to the National Account­ability Bureau (NAB) considering embe­zzle­ment of a huge amount of mon­ey by a few officials.

Thatta SSP Shabbir Sethar on Monday shared some details of the matter and recommendations with reporters at the Thatta Press Club.

The three-member committee was constituted on a directive of the inspector general of police after it emerged that salaries and allow­ances for as many as 130 non-existing police employees had been drawn every month for about six years.

A thorough investigation was con­ducted by the committee, which found incriminating evi­dence against the officials invol­ved and recommended handing over of the matter to NAB for further probe.

Salaries of 130 ‘ghost’ employees drawn since 2012

SSP Sethar said that notices had been issued to the recipients of the salaries meant for the non-existent employees. The police officials, who received the salaries on behalf of the ‘fake recruits’, have been placed under suspension and asked to explain their position in the light of the findings of the committee.

Their own salaries have been stopped till further orders.

According to the SSP, the key suspects in the racket, accountant Raja Shahid, sheet clerk Sattar Solangi, constable Azam Gopang and some others — all employees of the Thatta district police office — have been sacked. However, he added, they had gone into hiding to escape arrest.

The persons in whose name the salaries were drawn appeared to be the suspects’ family members, close relatives and friends.

The committee compiled its rep­ort under the supervision of Sul­tan Khowaja (the then Hyderabad Range DIG).

Headed by former Thatta SSP retired Capt Faisal Abdullah Cha­char, the committee comp­rised Tando Moh­ammad Khan SSP Tau­qeer Moha­mmad Naeem, Hyder­abad ASP Abdu­llah Lak and Hyderabad DIG’s complaint cell in-charge Inspector Sirajuddin.

It is learnt that the suspects had damaged/destroyed part of the record pertaining to the fake employees and payment of their salaries while the investigation was under way.

It found seven to eight officials of Thatta SSP’s office actively invol­ved in the racket and concluded that the actual culprits seemed to be an undetermined number of higher officials. An extensive probe may help find these officials, according to the inquiry team.

A loss of millions of rupees had been caused to the exchequer every month for about six years and the estimated total loss over the period comes to several billion rupees, SSP Sethar said.

The committee has approached the Sindh accountant general thro­ugh a communication for help in seeking comprehensive data regar­ding the matter and those involved from the district treasury office.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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SUKKUR: Inaugurating dis­tri­bu­tion of forms in Sindh for ‘Naya Pakistan Housing Progr­amme’ here on Monday, Gover­nor Imran Ismail said the PTI government had fulfilled its commitment to give five million houses to people and now the dream of owning one’s own home would come true.

After inaugurating the issu­ance of forms from the mobile van of the National Database & Registration Authority (Nadra) in the dep­uty commissioner’s office, he said the event was held there to give message to the people of Sindh that “Sindh is our land and we were all born here on this soil.”

He said Prime Minister Imran Khan wanted to give a message to the people of Sindh that this scheme would be run with honesty and if they saw any irregularity, they should report it to Nadra.

He said the provincial govern­ment and local administration by treating this scheme as their own should extend necessary help as everyone here — either from the government or the opposition — belonged to Sindh. The people of Sindh should benefit from this scheme, he said.

The governor said that that under the ‘Naya Pakis­tan Hou­sing Progra­mme’, the housing facility would be available to every person without any discri­mi­nation of caste or religion and everybody was required to sup­port the government in this plan. He said it was a welfare project and not a political gimmick. People should avoid creating hurdles in it, he added.

Talking to reporters on the occasion, Governor Ismail said that after two months of registration process, a deci­sion would be taken about the number of houses as per need of Sukkur.

In reply to a question, he said: “We cannot give subsidy for everything just for saving our vote bank as was done by the past governments.”

Present on the occasion were Sindh PTI president Ameer Bakhsh Bhutto, MPA Haleem Adil Shaikh, Shaharyar Khan Mahar, Syed Tahir Hussain Shah and Mobeen Ahmed Jatoi.

Earlier, Nadra Director Gene­ral Naveed Jan Sahibzada gave briefing to the governor in the conference room of the DC office Sukkur on the form and regis­tration process.

Traders’ delegation

A delegation of office-bearers of the Sukkur Small Traders Association led by Haji Mohammad Jawed Memon met the governor at the circuit house of Sukkur.

Talking to the team, Mr Ismail said programmes of development and people’s welfare projects had been started in Pakistan under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He said people should extend support to the government.

The trade leaders assured their complete support while the governor said problems of Sukkur’s small traders would be resolved on priority. A branch of Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) would be opened soon in Sukkur, he added.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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KARACHI: Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said on Monday that around half of the children dying in Thar died within one month of their birth and low birth weight was one of the leading causes of their deaths.

“Around 50 per cent of children dying in Thar die within one month of their birth and the leading causes of their deaths are low birth weight, septicaemia ... and birth asphyxia or deprivation of oxygen at the time of birth,” said the minister while speaking at a press conference in her office.

She said the provincial health ministry was dealing with those conditions by setting up more health facilities closer to homes of the people of Thar.

Besides, she added, the provision of cash to pregnant women was another step of the plan to enable them to reach health facilities. Besides, she added that food packages would be given to pregnant women.

Dr Pechuho said the government would establish 80 more dispensaries in the desert district, where trained community midwives and lady health workers would be posted to help pregnant women in having better reproductive health. Besides, pregnant women would be given cash for visiting the health facilities as well as good packages to improve their nutritional status.

She said actions of the Sindh government and the health department had nothing to do with the federal government’s plans regarding Thar. She said the Sindh government had been working to improve social, economic and health conditions in Thar for many years and the same would continue in future.

Anti-measles campaign

The minister said the ongoing measles campaign was successful in the rest of Sindh but admitted that there were certain issues in Karachi.

Such problems were tangibly detected in Korangi, New Karachi etc. However, she was confident that those issues would be handled in the coming five days of the campaign.

She applauded the authorities concerned for achieving close to 100 per cent targets in the campaign in the rest of Sindh.

Regarding the provincial government’s plans to appoint doctors through walk-in interviews, she said there was an acute shortage of doctors in the province and it would require a couple of years at least if the ministry decided to appoint doctors through the public service commission.

She said half of the doctors did not accept the offer letters as they had to pursue their post-graduation and specialisation.

She said the ministry was hiring doctors on a contract basis through walk-in interviews and if they wanted to get themselves regularised, they would have to pass the public service commission test.

She added that those doctors would not be able to get themselves transferred from the place of their posting.

She said poliovirus was present in the environment and maximum efforts were being made to eradicate it from the country.

About the recent polio case reported in Karachi’s Gadap area, she said the affected child had been administered multiple doses of polio vaccine which saved her from paralysis.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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KARACHI: A local court on Monday granted post-arrest bail to a detained traffic police official booked in a case of extorting money from a rickshaw driver, who died after committing self-immolation in protest.

Police claimed to have detained Head Constable Mohammad Hanif and booked him in a case registered under Section 161 (Public servant taking gratification other than legal remuneration in respect to an official act) of the Pakistan Penal Code at the Saddar police station.

On Monday, the investigating officer produced the detained constable before the judicial magistrate (East) to seek his physical remand in police custody for interrogation.

The IO stated that Khalid, who used to drive a tri-wheeler, had burnt himself allegedly due to demands for extortion by the suspect, adding that the victim had received more than 50 per cent burns and later succumbed to his wounds in hospital on Monday.

Therefore, the IO pleaded for his physical remand in police custody for interrogation and completion of other legal formalities.

But the magistrate inquired from the IO that how physical remand of the suspect could be granted since he had been booked for a bailable offence. The magistrate further inquired whether the IO had checked his past criminal record.

The IO said he had been assigned investigation into the case in the morning and needed the case file, but once again requested for physical remand of the suspect.

After briefly adjourning the matter, the judge turned down the IO’s request for remand and granted post-arrest bail to Mohammad Hanif against a surety bond of Rs100,000 with the direction to appear on the next date.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Monday rejected an application seeking post-arrest bail for former senator Faisal Raza Abidi in a case related to defamation of Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar.

ATC Judge Shahrukh Arjumand dismissed the application after the prosecutor claimed that Mr Abidi had in an interview aired on a private television channel tried to blackmail the top judge.

The counsel for Mr Abidi, however, argued that there was nothing on record showing his client had threatened any member of the judiciary.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had booked Mr Abidi under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (Peca) 2016.

According to the FIR registered against the former senator, Mr Abidi with criminal intent and ulterior motives and without lawful justification had used sarcastic, derogatory, disrespectful and defamatory language against the chief justice. It said his remarks were tantamount to creating a sense of fear, panic and insecurity among the government, general public and society.

It said Faisal Raza Abidi was prima facie guilty of offences punishable under sections 10(a), 11 and 20 of Peca, read with sections 109 and 509 of the PPC.

Mr Abidi is also facing other FIRs registered at the Secretariat police station under PPC’s sections 228, 500, 505(ii) and 34, along with the ATA, in response to a complaint lodged by SC public relations fficer Shahid Hussain Kambyo for using threatening language and levelling allegations against government institutions and individuals holding the highest constitutional posts.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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LAHORE: Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif has strongly rejected the allegations of high treason levelled against him in a petition pending adjudication before the Lahore High Court and maintained that “the act of sedition is even unthinkable for me”.

Though Mr Sharif did not attend Monday’s hearing of the petition by a full bench, his counsel Naseer Ahmad Bhutta submitted a written reply and told the judges that his client was due to appear in trial proceedings before an accountability court of Islamabad. Moreover, he said he took an impression at the last hearing as if Mr Sharif was supposed to appear before the court for once.

However, Justice Syed Mazahar Ali Akbar Naqvi, who heads the bench, said that if this was the case the other respondents, including former prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida, would not be present in the court. He directed the counsel to file an application if Mr Sharif wanted to seek exemption from personal appearance and the court would look into it as per the law.

Appreciating the conduct of Mr Abbasi, Justice Naqvi said on a lighter note that the former’s frequent appearances before the LHC benefited him a lot as the people of Lahore had elected him to the National Assembly in a recent by-poll.

LHC asks petitioner to come up with arguments on maintainability of petition levelling sedition charges against two ex-PMs, Dawn journalist Cyril Almeida

“I also like to appear before courts,” responded Mr Abbasi.

“You may become prime minister again if you keep visiting the court,” Justice Chaudhry Masood Jahangir, a member of the bench, told Mr Abbasi.

Lawyers for Mr Abbasi and Mr Almeida submitted written replies to the court. The cabinet division secretary and the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority also filed their replies.

The counsel for the petitioner pointed out that Mr Almeida had in his reply only said that he wrote what Mr Sharif told him in the interview.

“What else a journalist should say?” Justice Naqvi asked the counsel.

The court adjourned further hearing till Nov 12 and directed the counsel for the petitioner to come up with arguments on maintainability of the petition.

Besides questioning the maintainability of the petition, Mr Sharif in his reply argued how a person, who had made the defence of the country unconquerable, could be a traitor? Being a three-time prime minister he was fully conversant with the challenges faced by the country, its army and law enforcement agencies, he stated.

“If people of Pakistan who put their trust in my party and made me prime minister three times are also traitor,” Mr Sharif stated, adding that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz also secured maximum votes in the recently held by-polls.

The former premier stated neither the whole nation nor state institutions could find out the alleged treason committed by him except the one who had filed the petition. “Does the petitioner also know the whereabouts of the dictator who is facing proceedings under Article 6 for abrogating the Constitution of this country?” Mr Sharif asked.

He stated he had nothing to do with the protocol, if any, provided to journalist Cyril Almeida at Multan airport. He denied having discussed the minutes of a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) with then prime minister Abbasi.

Refuting the allegation of sedition by the petitioner, Mr Sharif maintained that he never uttered any seditious remarks or gave any anti-state interview. He argued that under the High Treason (Punishment) Act 1973, proceedings can take place only on a complaint by the federal government, which has exclusive discretion in the matter.

Mr Sharif requested the court to dismiss the petition for being not maintainable.

In his reply, Mr Abbasi rejected the allegations of violating the oath of office of the prime minister in any manner. He also dismissed the allegation of discussing the minutes of the NSC meeting with Mr Sharif.

Filed through Advocate Ahmad Rauf, Mr Almeida stated in his reply that he had written verbatim the words of Mr Sharif, which had been quoted. He stated the news article was published in good faith on a matter of general public interest and the words were quoted verbatim.

He rejected the allegation of being taken to Multan airport in a special plane or given any protocol, explaining he travelled to the city by road from Islamabad for the purpose of covering the pre-election situation in southern Punjab.

“The petitioner has taken one statement out of context while ignoring the entire news article which includes rather important public interest statements and has to be read as a whole,” he added.

The reply stated Mr Almeida “is a patriotic journalist who has been writing in the daily Dawn on matters of public importance for years and is under a constitutional duty to apprise the nation of the views of their public leaders”.

Mr Almeida told the court that he was “neither a necessary nor proper party” in the case and requested it to dismiss the petition.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2018

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An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi indicted several MQM leaders in 21 cases on Tuesday on charges of facilitating the dissemination of hateful speeches made by party founder Altaf Hussain, arson attacks and the ransacking of some media houses.

The leaders all pleaded 'not guilty'. All were extended interim bail in the cases they have been indicted in.

Senior MQM leaders, including Dr Farooq Sattar, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Amir Khan, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Rauf Siddiqui, Rashid Godil, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Gul Faraz Khattak, Salman Mujahid, Abdul Qadir Khanzada, Khushbakht Shujaat, Shahid Pasha, Qamar Mansoor and Kanwar Naveed, along with nearly 200 party workers, have been booked in the identical cases.

On their counsels' request, the ATC-I judge had previously clubbed over 20 identical FIRs against the MQM leaders accusing them of facilitating and listening to a provocative speech against the country’s security establishment delivered by Altaf Hussain.

The court had in a past hearing fixed the indictment in those cases for today (Oct 23). The court will indict the suspects in five other cases on Nov 10.

Six people were burnt to death and two policemen sustained injuries in a collision between a petrol-laden wagon and a truck in Machh town of Bolan District on Tuesday, DawnNewsTV reported.

The wagon was loaded with petrol in Quetta and was heading towards Sibbi when it collided with the truck. The ensuing flames also engulfed a picket set up by Machh police and burned it down.

A large number of Frontier Corps and Levies personnel reached the site soon after the accident, and helped bring the fire under control.

The bodies were shifted to Machh Hospital.

One of the chief accused in the ongoing 'fake' accounts case, Aslam Masood, was arrested by Interpol on Tuesday as he was boarding a flight from London to Jeddah, DawnNewsTV reported quoting security sources.

The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) hailed the arrest of Masood — the chief financial officer of the Omni Group of Companies and the "mastermind" behind the scheme to move illicit funds through fake accounts, according to the FIA — as a "breakthrough" in the case. He is one of the chief suspects in the case, along with 19 other suspects including former president Asif Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur.

The Supreme Court (SC) had issued non-bailable arrest warrants for Masood, who was declared an absconder, in August. The court had also issued non-bailable arrest warrants against other absconding suspects, including Nasser Abdullah Lootah, Nimr Majeed, Arif Khan, Adnan Javed, Mohammad Umair, Mohammad Iqbal Arain, Azam Wazir Khan, Zain Malik and Mustafa Zulqernain.

Masood, according to his red warrant, a copy of which is available with Dawn.com, is accused of forgery, cheating, impersonation, corruption and money laundering.

An initial probe into the case had suggested that Rs35bn were transferred through fake accounts opened in Summit Bank, Sindh Bank and UBL. However, a recent report submitted to the SC by a joint investigation team (JIT) that is probing the case, revealed that transactions to the tune of Rs54bn may have been made through 107 fake bank accounts.

JIT head Ahsan Sadiq in his report said that several bank accounts used in suspicious transactions were opened for a brief period of time and were closed after the transfer of money was completed.

An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Karachi indicted several MQM leaders in 21 cases on Tuesday on charges of facilitating the dissemination of hateful speeches made by party founder Altaf Hussain, arson attacks and the ransacking of some media houses.

The leaders all pleaded 'not guilty'. All were extended interim bail in the cases they have been indicted in.

Senior MQM leaders, including Dr Farooq Sattar, Karachi Mayor Wasim Akhtar, Amir Khan, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, Rauf Siddiqui, Rashid Godil, Khawaja Izharul Hasan, Gul Faraz Khattak, Salman Mujahid, Abdul Qadir Khanzada, Khushbakht Shujaat, Shahid Pasha, Qamar Mansoor and Kanwar Naveed, along with nearly 200 party workers, have been booked in the identical cases.

On their counsels' request, the ATC-I judge had previously clubbed over 20 identical FIRs against the MQM leaders accusing them of facilitating and listening to a provocative speech against the country’s security establishment delivered by Altaf Hussain.

The court had in a past hearing fixed the indictment in those cases for today (Oct 23). The court will indict the suspects in five other cases on Nov 10.

The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday granted 10-days protective bail to retired captain Mohammad Safdar, the son-in-law of ousted premier Nawaz Sharif, who is facing inquiries initiated by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB).

He was ordered by the court to deposit two bonds of Rs500,000 each as surety.

Earlier in the day, Safdar had moved the LHC seeking protective bail as the petitioner feared that NAB officials would arrest him.

The development comes as the petitioner failed to appear before NAB's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter despite multiple notices. Safdar in his plea mentioned that the authorities had delivered some notices to his Mansehra residence, whereas he was currently residing in Jati Umra due to medical reasons.

Safdar added that he came to know that NAB had sent several notices to him when he was serving a jail term at Adiyala jail but said that he did not receive any of them.

He said he feared that the NAB officials would arrest him and requested the court to grant him protective bail.

He had been given a year in jail in the Avenfield corruption reference for not cooperating with NAB, and aiding and abeting Nawaz and his wife, Maryam Nawaz. Safdar went underground after the verdict but two days after the judgement, surrendered before the authorities and was shifted to jail. The Islamabad High Court had recently suspended his jail term.

Currently, he is facing several inquiries and at least two cases under Sections 147, 149, 188 and 341 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

A screenshot from a TV news report aired last year on DawnNewsTV is being circulated on social media with the suggestion that the incumbent government has announced a new crackdown on social media accounts spreading negative propaganda against the prime minister and state institutions.

While the screenshot itself is authentic — unlike earlier pictures of Dawn.com which were doctored to spread fake news — the news does not pertain to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government.

The clip from which the screenshot has been taken was aired in March 2017 and the move had, in fact, been announced by the PML-N government to 'safeguard' then prime minister Nawaz Sharif from criticism on social media.

Dawn.com has verified the particulars of this snapshot by reviewing footage from the DawnNews archives.

This is not the first time that fake news has been attributed to a Dawn brand. On a number of occasions, doctored screenshots posing as Dawn.com were shared on social media to spread fake and malicious 'news'.